Karnataka High Court restrains students from wearing hijab/saffron scarf

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday restrained students from wearing hijab or any religious attire such as saffron scarves, which can instigate people, till the matter is pending with the court. The next hearing will take place on Monday.

The full bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi heard the matter after it was transferred to the larger bench on Wednesday.

During the hearing, advocate Sanjay Hegde, while appearing for students claimed that the girls faced discrimination in their classes as they were made to stand out since December last year.

The students' lawyer argued that there was no provision for a school uniform, citing the Karnataka Education Act, saying that uniforms were school phenomenon, Hegde said.

The Advocate General while arguing for the Karnataka government said the regime wanted institutions, but schools and colleges can't start with one set of students wearing headscarves and another set wearing saffron shawls. On Wednesday, Justice Dixit while hearing a bunch of petitions filed by Muslim girls from Udupi had said that the issues had given rise to certain constitutional questions of seminal importance.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court refrained from issuing a date for hearing on a PIL seeking transfer of the case from the Karnataka High Court. The hijab row continues to escalate across the State with protests for and against the wearing of hijab or headscarves by Muslim women students.