BENGALURU: The full bench of the
Karnataka high court comprising Chief Justice
Ritu Raj Awasthi
and Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi will resume hearing on writ petitions pertaining to the
hijab
ban controversy on Monday. The number of petitions, including a
PIL
, has swelled to six.
At the previous hearing on Thursday (Feb 10), the bench, in an interim order restrained students — regardless of their religion or faith — from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and religious flags or the like in classrooms until further notice. The bench also made clear that the order is confined to institutions where College Development Committees have prescribed a dress code or uniforms for students.
It also requested the government to reopen schools and colleges at the earliest.
“It hardly needs to be mentioned that ours is a country of plural cultures, religions and languages,” the court observed. “Being a secular state, it does not identify itself with any religion as its own. [That] Every citizen has the right to profess and practise any faith of choice, is true. However, such a right, not being absolute, is susceptible to reasonable restrictions as provided by the Constitution of India.”
Thursday’s proceedings in the high court were livestreamed on YouTube and it garnered 6. 8 lakh views till Sunday evening.
In their petitions, students from colleges in Udupi and Kundapur contend that the ban on wearing hijabs is a breach of their fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The government’s February 5 circular relating to dress code has also been challenged.
However, the government is of the view that allowing a student to wear the prescribed uniform amounts to preferential treatment and a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
It contends that educational institutions are not the place to profess or preach any religion or caste. Students must maintain uniform and for this noble object, students are required to wear the uniform prescribed by the concerned institution or authority.
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