Hijab Row Hearing to be Continued Tommorow

Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court hearing on petitions challenging the hijab ban concluded for the day. The HC scheduled the hearing at 2:30 pm tommorow.

Appearing on behalf of students wearing headscarves, senior advocate Devadatt Kamat said hijab is protected under the religious freedoms granted by the Constitution and no college development body is equipped to take a call on whether it can be banned in view of public order violation.Mr Kamat told the bench led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and comprising Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi that colleges are not competent to take a call on public order and it was the duty of the state to do so. In this case, the state, he said, has abdicated its duty.

Delineating, the two sections of the Constitution’s Article 25, which discusses religious freedoms, the senior advocate questioned, “Where is that Law on the basis of which the headscarf is prohibited”.”The declaration made by the government that wearing of headscarf is not protected by Article 25 is totally erroneous,” he added.

In a bid to control escalating tension in the state, Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai will hold a meeting with Education Minister BC Nagesh to decide on the SOP to operate schools and colleges without any religious garments till the high court delivers a verdict on the hijab row. Karnataka High Court has given directions and everyone should follow. My request to students is to follow the high court order, Bommai said.