The Supreme Court of India on Thursday asked the petitioners challenging the hijab verdict delivered by the Karnataka High Court to not “sensationalise” the case.
The country’s top court made these comments as it refused to fix a date for hearing the plea as requested by the petitioner, a muslim student, because of her impending college exams in the last week of March 2022.
Examinations have nothing to do with the issue (hijab). Do not sensationalise (the case),” CJI NV Ramana said.
Senior Advocate Devdatt Kamat, appearing for petitioner Aishat Shifa, told the bench consisting of CJI Ramana and Justice Krishna Murari that her client has first year pre-university final examination from 28th March and hence requires urgent hearing on the matter.
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He argued unsuccessfully that Miss Shifa might lose an academic year as she is not be allowed to wear hijab in the college and hence the situation necessitates an urgent hearing on the matter.
Aishat Shifa maintains that banning of hijab by her educational institution, a decision upheld by the Karnataka High Court, violates her fundamental rights including practice of religion.
The Karnataka High Court on 15th March dismissed the petitions filed by Muslim students seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms, saying that Hijab is nit an essential part of Islam.
The High Court further said that the “prescription of uniform is constitutional and students can't object to it”.
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In January-February 2022, Karnataka witnessed a huge uproar over the insistence of some Muslim girls to wear hijab in schools and colleges.
The controversy erupted after a college in Udupi refused permission to Muslim girls for wearing hijab in classrooms citing the dress code that was in effect for students.
It snowballed into a political slugfest with ruling BJP and principal Opposition party Congress taking diagonally opposite stand on the issue.
On 31st January, five Muslim girls approached the Karnataka High Court demanding an overturn of an administrative decision of the Government PU college in Udupi which had banned earing the head-scarfs in classrooms.
The Muslim girls called wearing the headscarf as a fundamental right.
