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Karnataka hijab ban | Supreme Court concludes hearing, reserves judgment
The Hindu
Karnataka argued in the Supreme Court that it had the authority to issue an order to educational institutions to follow the discipline of wearing the prescribed school uniforms
The Supreme Court on September reserved its judgment in a batch of petitions challenging the prohibition on Muslim students from wearing hijab in classrooms in Karnataka.
A Bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia wrapped up the case for verdict after hearing the arguments presented by lawyers for petitioner-students and the State for 10 days.
Also read: Explained | Did the Karnataka High Court’s hijab verdict overlook ‘reasonable accommodation’?
The students had come in appeal against a Karnataka High Court judgment which had held that the proscription on hijab in classrooms was a reasonable restriction. The High Court had concluded that hijab was not an essential religious practice in Islam.
The State argued in the apex court that it had the authority to issue an order to educational institutions to follow the discipline of wearing the prescribed school uniforms. The order was religion-neutral and did not distinguish one student from the other.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta even went to the extent of claiming that the hijab controversy was triggered by the Popular Front of India through social media.
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, for the students, argued that fundamental rights, freedom to choose to what to wear and freedom of faith would not diminish inside a classroom.