SC lists pleas against hijab ban in educational institutions
New Delhi, April 26: The Supreme Court has agreed to list pleas against the Karnataka High Court order upholding the "hijab ban" in educational institutions.
On Tuesday, senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora mentioned in the ape court appeals against the Karnataka High Court order upholding the hijab ban in educational institutions. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana asked her to wait for two days, saying he will list it soon.
Several petitioners have approached the top court challenging the Karnataka HC ruling upholding the state government's order which directs strict enforcement of schools and colleges' uniform rules.
One of the pleas in the Supreme Court has alleged "step-motherly behaviour of government authorities which has prevented students from practising their faith and resulted in an unwanted law and order situation".
According to the plea, the High Court "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 India".
It further added that "Wearing of hijab or headscarf is a practice that is essential to the practice of Islam."
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A bench of Karnataka HC comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi had held that the prescription of uniforms is a reasonable restriction that students could not object to and dismissed various pleas challenging the hijab ban in education institutions saying they are without merit.
The hijab controversy started in January of this year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly denied entry to six students wearing the hijab. Following this, the girls sat outside campus in protest of being denied entry.
Following this, boys from several colleges in Udupi began wearing saffron scarves to class. This protest spread to other regions of the state, resulting in protests and agitations in a number of places across Karnataka.
As a result, the Karnataka government mandated that all students wear the uniform and prohibited both hijab and saffron scarves until an expert committee decided on the issue.
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-PTC News
