Karnataka: The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday restrained the students from wearing any kind of religious cloth, be it a headscarf or saffron shawls, to high schools and colleges as the case is still being heard by the High Court.
The court adjourned the hearing of the petition till February 14.
A three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and two other judges, began hearing petitions on the hijab issue this afternoon.
The High Court said it will issue an interim order that high schools and colleges in the state — which were asked to stay closed till Saturday, February 11 — should reopen but nobody should be allowed to wear any kind of religious clothing.
“We will pass an order that lets institutions start. But till the matter is pending, these students shall not insist on wearing religious cloth, be it hijab or saffron cloth. We will restrain everyone. Let there be peace and tranquillity,” Chief Justice Awasthi observed.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court had declined a prayer to urgently transfer the cases from the high court to the apex court.
The state cabinet also on Wednesday decided to await the court verdict before taking any decision on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant has promulgated prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC against any gathering, agitation, or protests of any type within the area of 200-metre radius from the gates of the schools, pre-university colleges, degree colleges or other similar educational institutions in Bengaluru City for a period of two weeks from Wednesday till February 22.
Wearing a hijab is an essential part of the Islamic religion, is a facet of the right to privacy recognized by the Supreme Court, and is protected by the right to freedom of expression under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, the Karnataka High Court was told Tuesday.
Challenging the Udupi Women’s PU (pre-university) College’s December 2021 directive to ban the wearing of hijabs within the premises, a Muslim student made the submission before a bench of Justice Krishna S. Dixit.
The college has also prevented the petitioner and other female Muslim students from attending classes on the ground that they wear hijabs.
At the outset — with the tussle over the hijab having spread across educational institutions in Karnataka, sparking protests and becoming politicised — the judge asked the counsel appearing in the case to “keep all emotions aside”.
“We will go by what the Constitution says. The Constitution is above the Bhagavad Gita for me. I will go by the oath that I have taken to the Constitution,” he told the state counsel, Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi, and the petitioners’ lawyer, senior advocate Devadatt Kamat.
Before the bench commenced hearing on the merits, Kamat urged the court to ask the state to defer the college’s directive on the hijab by two months and permit Muslim students to take the final year exam of the current academic session while wearing headscarves. But Navadgi expressed his disinclination to interfere with the decision of the concerned college committee.
Pertinently, in a viral video shared on February 8, a Muslim student with a hijab was seen arriving at her college on a scooter. As she walked towards her class after parking her scooter, a group of Hindutva members began to mock her hijab by chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram.’
However, the student stopped to shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ to counter the slogans raised by the mob against Muslims and Hijab.
The video was shared by journalist Imran Khan, who wrote, “#KarnatakaHijabRow when a #hijabi student arrives at PES college in #Mandya. She gets heckled by students wearing #saffronshawls chanting #JaiSriRam. She raises her hand says “#AllahuAkbar befor being escorted by college staff. Video courtesy: Digvijaya News. #Karnataka.”
The student in the video is now being hailed as brave. Journalist Rifat Jawaid tweeted, “Very brave girl indeed. You need guts to take on these terrorists. Hope she remains focused to study and stay away from politics.”
One Twitter user wrote, “My salute this girl she is brave a gladiator.” Another commented, “Harassing a woman is not neither Hinduism nor Nationalism or Patriotism… & saffron don’t Represent Hinduism or Nationalism or Patriotism.”
The social media users have praised the student for standing against the wrong describing her as the “Iron Lady” and the “Icon Lady of Hijab”.
Earlier, a ban was imposed on Muslim students for wearing hijab in the Bhandarkar’s Arts and Science Degree College in Kundapur, which is a coastal town in Karnataka’s Udupi region.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court has begun hearing the plea against a hijab ban in several junior colleges in parts of the state.
Protests erupted in Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi on Tuesday as groups of students with saffron scarfs and those wearing hijabs clashed with each other.
The hijab row, which began in a Udupi college, has spread to several educational institutions across Karnataka, with several students turning up for classes wearing saffron shawls and headgears as a form of protest.
Amid the raging row, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has asked students in junior colleges to adhere to the state government’s rules regarding uniforms until the issue over wearing headscarves in classes is addressed by the High Court.
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