SC delivers split verdict on pleas against Karnataka Hijab ban; larger bench to hear case

The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a split verdict on a bunch of pleas challenging the Karnataka High Court's judgment upholding the ban on students wearing Hijab in Karnataka's educational institutions. A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia had reserved its judgment on September 22 after hearing arguments in the matter for 10 days. While Justice Gupta, who will retire on October 16, ruled in favour of dismissing the appeals against the Karnataka HC verdict, Justice Dhulia held that wearing Hijab is a matter of choice. Thus, the matter was referred to a larger bench of the SC. 

Justice Dhulia observed, "The main thrust of my judgment is the entire concept of essential religious practice was not essential to the dispute. The High Court took a wrong path. It is ultimately a matter of choice and Article 14 and 19.". He asserted that it is a matter of choice". The operative part of the judgment read, "In light of the divergence of opinion, the matter has to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions". 

During the hearing, the lawyers appearing for the petitioners argued that preventing the Muslim girls from wearing Hijab to the classroom will put their education in jeopardy. On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued on behalf of the Karnataka government that its order dated February 5, 2022, which banned wearing clothes that disturb equality, integrity, and public order in schools and colleges was 'religion-neutral'. Maintaining that the petitioners agreed to comply with all the rules while taking admission, he also pointed out that no student insisted on wearing Hijab or saffron shawls for many years.

On September 20, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta alleged, "In 2022, a movement was started in social media by Popular Front of India. There were continuous social media messages- start wearing Hijab. This was not a spontaneous act by a few children. They were a part of a larger conspiracy and children were acting as advised."

The Karnataka HC's verdict

On March 15, the Karnataka HC bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justices Krishna Dixit, and JM Khazi ruled that Hijab is not an essential religious practice. The court's order came in response to a plea of students of Government P.U. College for Girls, Udupi, who sought permission to attend classes wearing a Hijab and a direction to the effect that it is an "essential practice" of Islam. In its judgment panning 129 pages, the court has eloquently answered key questions pertaining to the Hijab row and said that the prescription of the school uniform is only a reasonable restriction that students cannot object to.

The verdict read, "There is absolutely no material placed on record to prima facie show that wearing of hijab is a part of an essential religious practice in Islam and that the petitioners have been wearing hijab from the beginning. This apart, it can hardly be argued that hijab being a matter of attire, can be justifiably treated as fundamental to Islamic faith. It is not that if the alleged practice of wearing hijab is not adhered to, those not wearing hijab become the sinners, Islam loses its glory and it ceases to be a religion."