Karnataka HC Upholds Hijab Ban, Says Not Essential Religious Practice

Bangalore: Dismissing the pleas filed Muslim students against the hijab ban on educational institution; the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the same.

The court also ruled out that hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam.

"We are of the considered opinion that the hijab is not an essential practice under Islam,'' a bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi.

The court further said that the Karnataka government has the power to prescription a uniform, which is a reasonable restriction on fundamental rights, and held that there is no case has been made out to invalidate the Karnataka Government Order of February 5 which mandated a dress code.

The HC had concluded its final hearing in the case on March 14. Meanwhile, large gatherings have been banned and schools have been shut in the state.

Section 144 has also been imposed in the Shivamogga, Udupi, Kalaburagi districts.

The hijab row erupted on January 1, when six girl students of a college in Udupi attended a press conference held by the Campus Front of India (CFI) in the coastal town protesting against the college authorities denying them entry into classrooms wearing headscarves or hijab.

Later, this too was followed by some Hindu students turning up in saffron shawls in protest, even as the government insisted on a uniform.

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