New Delhi, March 15: Karnataka High Court dismissed the pleas on Hijab. Court verdict called hijab, not an essential practice in Islam and that dress code in schools, colleges must be followed for discipline and amicable social environment.
Hours after the Karnataka High Court upheld the state government order against wearing of hijab to schools and colleges in Karnataka, a Muslim student on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court, seeking relief under Article 25 of the Constitution. The Special Leave Petition (SLP), filed by Niba Naaz, submitted, “The High Court has erred in creating a dichotomy of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience”. The petitioner further said the Karnataka High Court has failed to note that the right to wear a Hijab was protected as part of the right to conscience under Article 25 of the Constitution. Since the right to conscience is essentially an individual right, the ‘Essential Religious Practices Test’ ought not to have been applied by the High Court in this instant case, it noted. The High Court of Karnataka had passed a judgment dismissing the petition filed by a group of Muslim girl students against the PU government college for denying them entry while wearing Hijab. The Full Bench of High Court, led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and also comprising Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi, dismissed the plea, stating that the practice of hijab is not an essential practice under Islam and thus, it does not fall within the ambit of Article 25 of the Constitution. The Court had also held that prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction, which is constitutionally permissible and which the students cannot object to. The government had the power to issue such notification and no case was made out against the government notification, the High Court had added (UNI).
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