A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court order dismissing petitions challenging the ban on hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka. Niba Naaz, a student, has filed a petition against the order of the Karnataka High Court.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court held that wearing hijab is not a part of the essential religious practice in Islam and rejected the submissions of Muslim girl students for being allowed to wear hijab in classes. The court also upheld the ban on hijab in educational institutions in the state.
The three-judge bench observed that the school uniform rule is a reasonable restriction and is constitutionally permissible, on which the girl students cannot raise any objection. A bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khaji said, “We are of the opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women is not a part of the essential religious practice in the religion of Islam”.
The bench also said that the government is empowered to issue the government order dated February 5, 2022 and no case is made out to hold it invalid. In this order, the state government has banned the wearing of those clothes, which disrupts equality, integrity and public order in schools and colleges. Muslim girls challenged this order in the High Court.