Hijab Ban Case: Why Karnataka High Court Verdict Is Problematic

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(Photo: Kamran Akther/The Quint)

After months of political upheaval and 11 days of hearing, a three-judge bench of the Karnataka Hight Court upheld the restrictions on Muslim women wearing hijab in educational institutions.

The bench held that the right to wear a hijab is not constitutionally protected. In its verdict, the bench comprising of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi stated:

“We are of the considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith... The prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction that is constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to."

The court also held that the Karnataka governments 5 February order, which essentially banned the wearing of hijab in educational institutions, is sound and that there was no case made out for its invalidation.

Commenting on the high court order, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai asked everyone to maintain "peace and order" and allow the students to attend classes, adding that education was more important than anything else. ⁦

In today’s episode, we breakdown the reasoning behind the Karnataka high courts judgment and why it is problematic. Joining me today to discuss this is Vakasha Sachdev, The Quint’s Legal Editor.