SC to hear pleas against Karnataka HC order refusing to lift hijab ban next week

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear next week appeals challenging Karnataka High Courts order which upheld the state governments decision to ban wearing hijabs in school and college classroomsA bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli said it would list the matter next week before the appropriate bench after advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter saying the petitions have not been listed since MarchSome of the petitioners before the High Court have approached the apex court challenging the order upholding the Karnataka governments order which directed strict enforcement of schools and colleges uniform rulesOne of the appeals in the top court has alleged stepmotherly behaviour of government authorities which has prevented students from practising their faith and resulted in an unwanted law and order situationThe appeal said the High Court in its impugned order had vehemently failed to apply its mind and was unable to understand the gravity of the situation as well as the core aspect of the Essential Religious Practices enshrined under Article 25 of the Constitution of IndiaWearing of Hijab or headscarf is a practice that is essential to the practice of Islam it has addedKarnataka High Court in March had held that the prescription of uniforms is a reasonable restriction that students could not object to and dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions saying they are without meritThe Hijab row erupted in January this year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly barred six girls wearing the hijab from entering Following this the girls sat in protest outside college over being denied entryAfter this boys of several colleges in Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves This protest spread to other parts of the state as well leading to protests and agitations in several places in KarnatakaAs a result the Karnataka government said that all students must adhere to the uniform and banned both hijab and saffron scarves till an expert committee decided on the issueOn February 5 the preUniversity education board released a circular stating that the students could only wear the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious attire would be allowed in collegesThe order stated that in case a uniform is not prescribed by management committees then students should wear dresses that go well with the idea of equality and unity and do not disturb the social orderA batch of appeals was filed against the governments rule in the Karnataka High Court by some girls seeking permission to wear the hijab in educational institutionsOn February 10 the High Court issued an interim order stating that students should not wear any religious attire to classes till the court issues the final order The hearings related to the Hijab case were concluded on February 25 and the court had reserved its judgementThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever