Karnataka hijab row: No student should insist on wearing any religious dress, says HC

`Closure of schools is not a good development. Take necessary action and conduct classes. See to it that no problem surfaces,` Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said.

Bengaluru: A three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court, hearing pleas on the hijab row, on Thursday directed the state government to reopen schools in the state while insisting that no student should insist on wearing any religious dress till the matter is disposed of. 

In its interim order, the Karnataka High Court said, "Students should not wear any cloth, whether Hijab or Saffron scarves, which can instigate people, till the matter is resolved." The High Court said that "peace & tranquillity must be restored" and adjourned the matter for hearing on Monday.

The interim order was given by a three-judge bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S. Dixit, and Justice Khaji Jaibunnesa Mohiyuddin. "We want to make an interim order on the matter of hijab row. We will hear the matter every day," the Chief Justice stated.

As the bench began hearing the matter, the Chief Justice told Advocate General Prabhuling Navadagi to open schools in the state. "Closure of schools is not a good development. Take necessary action and conduct classes. See to it that no problem surfaces," he said. Amid tensions and even violence over the matter, the state government had on Tuesday announced a three-day holiday for all schools and colleges in the state from Wednesday.

The petitioners arguing for hijab stated that there is ''no harm in students wearing hijab''. Hijab is a fundamental right, and it does not cause any problem to others, and so, they should be allowed to wear hijab of the same colour as their uniform, they said, arguing that the government has issued circular on uniform "hurriedly".

The petitioner`s further stated that the bench should give an interim order on the issue in the students` interests as students are outside schools in their interest. They also argued that as per the Karnataka Education Act, a uniform is not compulsory for students, and they can only be fined Rs 25 for violating the uniform rules.

As Chief Justice Awasthi intervened here, asking whether the petitioner is saying uniform is not required, the petitioner submitted that as per the Act, it is not compulsory. It is okay for primary school students but uniforms for college students is being objected to, he said.

Navadagi, however, opposed the issue of an interim order on the issue and stated that there are various developments surrounding the issue. Replying to that, the Chief Justice said, "We will pass an order, that let the institutions start but till the matter is pending here, no student should insist on wearing religious dress."

The Chief Justice added, "Till the disposal of the matter, you people (students) should not insist on wearing on all these religious things."

The single bench headed by Justice Dixit, which heard the matter, which has snowballed into a major crisis in the state and discussed at international levels, had decided the matter to be heard by the larger bench. It directed the High Court Registrar to submit the documents and petitions immediately to the Chief Justice as the matter is of utmost importance and needs to be heard urgently.

The single bench opined that there are questions related to the Constitution, there are aspects related to personal laws, and half a dozen court verdicts have been discussed in connection with the case. 

"I have verified more than 12 verdicts in this regard. There are arguments and counter-arguments related to the case. Let, the Chief Justice decide on handing over the matter to an extended bench," Justice Dixit stated while referring the case to a larger bench.

However, the bench refused to give an interim order even as petitioners pleaded to give a ruling on wearing of hijab to classes as only two months are left for this academic year. As many as seven petitions have been submitted to the court so far challenging the government circular of making uniform compulsory and upholding the decision taken by the college management and development committee regarding the wearing of the hijab.

The hijab row started last month with a few students of Udupi Government Pre-University College wearing hijab being denied permission to attend classes. The college authorities maintain that the students who used to come without hijabs have suddenly started coming in hijab.

The students later went on protest refusing to attend classes without hijab. The issue became a controversy and spread to other districts, leading to tension and even violence.