Wearing Hijab 'Not Essential' To Islam: Karnataka HC's Verdict On Hijab Ban | Key Points

The pleas challenging the hijab ban were being heard in the court by a bench of CJ Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi.

Muslim kids wearing hijabs hold a placard during the protest. Hijab row erupted in Karnataka colleges over Muslim students wearing religious dress to the college | Getty Images

New Delhi: The Karnataka HC on Tuesday dismissed multiple pleas challenging the hijab ban in educational institutions. The HC’s decision came after months of turmoil in Karnataka, which started from a pre-University college in the Udupi district in January 2021.

The pleas challenging the hijab ban were being heard in the court by a bench of CJ Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi.

Major points highlighted by the Karnataka HC Bench are: 

• Wearing of Hijab is not an essential religious practice of the Islamic Faith.
• No case is made out for invalidating the Government Order of February 5.
• The prescription of uniforms is a reasonable restriction on fundamental rights.
• All these writ petitions being devoid of merits are a liability to be and are accordingly are dismissed.
• In way of dismissal of these petitions, all the pending applications fail into the significance and are accordingly disposed of.

These statements were in response to three major questions formulated by the HC bench to reach a conclusion. These questions were-

1. Whether wearing hijab is essential religious practice under Islam?
2. Whether wearing hijab is essential religious practice under Islam? freedom of expression and right to privacy?
3. Whether GO  of February 5 was issued without application of mind and manifestly arbitrary?

The Hijab row in Karnataka has been going on since January 2021 when a few Muslim girls were denied entry to the classroom for wearing hijab. The incident led to protests and later on violence when some Hindu students came to college wearing saffron shawls against the girls who were protesting against the hijab ban.

Consequently, the colleges and schools were shut for a few days in February 2022, until the court was hearing the matter. However, later on, the court instructed the authorities to reopen educational institutions and make sure that none of the students wore any religious attire. 

Watch Full Verdict Here: