New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Karnataka government over a plea challenging the high court’s order upholding a ban on hijab in educational institutions of the state.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 5. A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia were hearing the matter. The apex court said it will not accept a plea seeking adjournment, as an early hearing was sought, and issued a notice to the Karnataka government on the plea.
"You wanted urgent hearing and when the matter is listed, you seek adjournment. We will not permit forum shopping," Justice Hemant Gupta told the petitioners.
Several petitions have been filed in the apex court against the Karnataka High Court verdict holding that wearing of hijab is not a part of the essential religious practice which can be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution.
The Karnataka High Court dismissed a clutch of petitions challenging a government order barring hijabs (headscarves) in schools and colleges in the state. A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said the wearing of hijabs is not ‘essential religious practice’ in Islam and that students could not object to ‘reasonable restrictions’ in the form of uniforms. The court upheld the state's February 5 ‘incompetent and manifestly arbitrary’ order and said it did not violate constitutional provisions.
Earlier in December, a government school in the Udupi district barred six students from entering the classroom because they were wearing hijabs. As the controversy spiralled, students from a college in the Mangaluru district made similar claims.
Slowly, more students across Karnataka spoke up as schools imposed curbs. Muslim students said they were being deprived of their fundamental rights to education and religion.
