Amid Karnataka hijab row, focus is on 1986 Supreme Court verdict

The question is whether students’ choice to wear the dress emanates from ‘genuine, conscientious religious faith’

The question in the Karnataka hijab row is whether the students’ decision to wear the dress to college emanates from their “genuine and conscientious religious faith”.

A 36-year-old judgment of the Supreme Court may throw some light on the issue. In 1986, the Supreme Court discussed how the right to religious freedom (Article 25) protects actions or omissions by children in educational institutions based on their “honest belief and conviction”.