Hijab ban row: Supreme Court issues notice to Karnataka govt over pleas challenging HC order

By  India Blooms News Service   Aug 29, 2022

New Delhi/IBNS: The Supreme Court Monday issued a notice to the Karnataka government over pleas challenging the High Court order that had upheld the ban on hijab in educational institutions, media reports said.

The next hearing on the case will be held Sept 5.

The high court had earlier said wearing of hijab was not an essential religious practice that can be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution. Several pleas were filed against the order.

The row had started in January as students at a school in the Udupi district of Karnataka refused to remove headscarves and stop their use despite requests from teachers.

The students had contended that there is no law that prohibits the use of headscarves in educational institutions.

A confrontation between the Muslim students, who insisted on wearing the hijab, and the supporters of the ban outside the college were seen in several parts of the south Indian state.

In one video which went viral on social media, a Muslim girl was seen confronting a group of boys who had protested against the wearing outside an educational institution.

The students had also garnered the support of the countrys primary opposition party Congress with its top leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra saying women can wear anything be it bikini or a hijab or a ghoonghat.