SC To Hear Plea Against Karnataka HC Verdict On Hijab Ban After Holi Vacation

Presenting the petitioners, Advocate Sanjay Hegde had requested the Chief Justice of India to schedule the hearing for Monday itself, but the CJI refused to decide a date.

Representational Image (Photo: Getty Images)

New Delhi: After Karnataka HC dismissed the pleas against hijab ban, the students who filed the writ petitions moved the Supreme court that will hear the case post Holi vacations. 

Presenting the petitioners, Advocate Sanjay Hegde had requested the Chief Justice of India to schedule the hearing for Monday — the first day after the Holi off — but the CJI refused, and said that a date would be finalised later on.

Meanwhile, the court also denied to schedule an on-priority hearing of a petition regarding the common dress code for female students and teachers in schools. The court said that this is not an urgent case to be heard.

BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a common dress code for students and teachers in schools which he believes would promote the feeling of social and national integration among students. 

It comes a day after the Karnataka HC dismissed the petitions against the hijab ban in educational institutions in the state. The issue of a ban on hijab has been going on for some months now and sparked violence in the state in the month of February.

The controversy began when a few Muslim students were denied entry to the classroom for wearing a hijab. Against the action, the students started protesting the ban. 

Consequently, some Hindu students started another protest against the Muslim students by wearing saffron shawls. The protests escalated into violence that led the state government to shut schools and high colleges until a verdict was given by the court. 

Days later, the court had instructed authorities to reopen educational institutions while making sure that none of the students were wearing any religious attires. On Tuesday, the Karnataka HC ruled that hijab is not an essential practice of Islam.