The Supreme court on Wednesday has agreed to hear pleas against the Karnataka High Court’s decision regarding the Hijab controversy next week.
This comes after advocate Prashanth Bhushan reminded the apex court that pleas in this regard were filed in March. However, even months later, it has not been listed for hearing.
A bench comprising Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli took note Bhushan’s submissions and said that the hearing would be held next week.
Bhushan stressed that it involved discontinued and education for Muslim girls in the state and asked to apex court to hear the matter at the earliest.
The pleas argue that the full bench of the Karnataka High Court which delivered the judgement stating that hijab was not essential religious practice failed to assess the gravity of the situation. They have also said that the court sidelined Article 21 of the Indian constitution which guarantees one the right to privacy.
It maybe recollected that the hijab controversy began in Karnataka’s Udupi district where a group of six government PU college girls sat in protest against the college management’s order that hijab was not part of the uniform. These girls did not attend classes for nearly two months, after which the controversy snowballed into a state-wide issue resulting in closure of educational institutions and the issue being heard in court.
Following the Karnataka High court’s judgement, students are asked to adhere to uniforms prescribed by college management committees and told that hijab cannot be allowed in classrooms.