Hijab row: SC assures petitioner to constitute bench, hearing expected after Holi vacation

New Delhi [India], March 3 (ANI): In the Hijab row, the Supreme Court on Friday assured the petitioner that it will constitute a bench and hear the plea, seeking to allow female students to appear in the examination wearing Hijab in Karnataka.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that it will constitute a bench and hear the matter related to the Hijab issue.
The plea was mentioned by Shariat Committee, which sought to grant permission to female students to appear in exams with wearing Hijab.

The court said that it will list the matter immediately after Holi.

The Apex court will remain closed for the Holi break from tomorrow and it will reopen on March 13.

Petitioner’s counsel told the court that the exams are after five days and insisted to hear the matter urgently.

An application was moved in the top court to allow girl students to appear in examinations, beginning from March 9, in colleges in Karnataka wearing headscarves.

The top court has earlier given a split verdict on various petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court order which upheld a ban on Hijab in educational institutes. Justice Hemant Gupta dismissed the appeal while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed it. The matter was thereafter referred to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate direction due to divergent opinions.

The judgement was given by a two-judge of justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia.

The court was hearing various pleas against Karnataka HC’s judgement upholding the Karnataka Govt decision to direct educational institutes to prescribe uniforms in educational institutes.

Various petitioners have approached the apex court challenging the Karnataka HC order upholding the Karnataka government’s order which directs strict enforcement of schools and colleges’ uniform rules.

Karnataka High Court last year 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 merit.

The Hijab row erupted in January last 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 the college over being denied entry.

After this, boys from 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 Karnataka.

As 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 issue.

On February 5 2022, the pre-University 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 colleges.