The Karnataka High Court will deliver the judgment in the hijab ban case on Tuesday, March 15. A full-judge bench of Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice JM Khazi and Justice Krishna S Dixit had heard for 11 days a batch of pleas against the ban on wearing the hijab (headcover) in educational institutions in Karnataka. The court had reserved judgment on February 25. The court is expected to pronounce its orders at 10.30 am on Tuesday.
The full-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court had been hearing pleas against the hijab ban, after Justice Krishna Dixit transferred the matter to a larger bench. The students had moved the high court after the issue spread to multiple areas in the state, and the Karnataka government issued an order mandating dress codes in classrooms.
The controversy in the state began at the end of December last year when a few students wearing the hijab were barred from a government pre-university college in Udupi. On January 1, six girl students of a college in Udupi attended a press conference held by the CFI in the coastal town protesting against the college authorities denying them entry into classrooms wearing hijab. To counter this, some Hindu students in colleges started coming to their institutions wearing saffron scarves. The saffron protests spread to other parts of the state. The Karnataka government then banned both hijabs and saffron scarves, and said that till an expert committee decides on the issue, all students must adhere to the uniform.
As protests grew from both sides, the Karnataka government declared holidays in high schools and colleges. During the hearing, the Karnataka High Court bench had issued an interim order, restraining students from wearing any kind of religious clothing, be it a headscarf or saffron shawls, to high schools and colleges, till the case is being heard in court. The High Court said that this was being done to maintain law and order, and peace, and said that this order applies only to those institutions which have a dress code that disallows the hijab.
During the hearing, the petitioner counsels maintained that the government order banning the hijab does not have any legal standing. The petitioners submitted that the hijab is an essential religious practice, and so the order banning it violated their fundamental right to practise religion, and denied them the right to education. The petitioners also argued that the constitution of the College Development Committee (CDC), and the School Development and Management Committee (SDMC) do not have legal sanctity, and that there are educational institutions like Kendriya Vidyalayas where hijabs are allowed.
The Karnataka government, through Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi, argued that the government has no role in taking decisions on wearing of hijab, and it is left to the discretion of the CDCs and SDMCs. The AG argued that wearing of hijab is not an essential practice under Islam and the government has the authority to take decisions when it comes to public order, health, and morality. The AG also said that fundamental rights, are individual in nature and are subjected to restrictions. The government has also submitted intelligence inputs and reports on the role of Campus Front of India (CFI) and other organisations, as the High Court sought to know the details of the organisation and how the issue was raked up all of a sudden.