Hijab Row: Petitioner Urges Karnataka CM for Permission To Write Exams in Hijab

The High Court had dismissed the petitions and stated that the hijab was not part of 'Essential Religious Practice'.

The petition argued that wearing a hijab is part of the girls' essential religious practices, and refusal to allow them to enter the college is a violation of their fundamental right to practise their religion.

(Image: Namita Chauhan\The Quint)

One of the petitioners from Udupi Pre-University (PU) College in Karnataka on Wednesday, 13 April, requested Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to allow Muslim girl students to appear for their second PU exam wearing a hijab.

Aliya Assadi, one of the petitioners in the hijab case, urged the CM to stop the students' future from "getting ruined."

She tweeted on Wednesday,

"2nd PU exams are going to start from 22nd of this month. Hon'ble CM Bommai you still have a chance to stop our future from getting ruined. You can make a decision to allow us to write exams wearing hijab. Please consider this. We are the future of this country."

High Court Dismisses Petition To Wear Hijab  

Rehman Farooq, one of the Muslim girl students denied entry to a Pre-University College in Udupi, had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court on 31 January, seeking a declaration that students had the right to wear the hijab, and for the college to be directed to allow them to attend their classes without interference.

The PU College in Udupi, a government-run institution, had denied several Muslim girls entry to classes on 28 December 2021 as they had sought to wear a hijab (headscarf) along with their school uniform, in accordance with their religious traditions.

The writ petition filed by Farooq argued that wearing a hijab was part of the girls' essential religious practices, and refusal to allow them to enter the college was, therefore, a violation of their fundamental right to practise their religion under Article 25 of the Constitution, as well as Article 14 (right to equal treatment).

However, the Karnataka High Court upheld the ban on Muslim girls wearing a hijab with the uniform in schools and colleges, dismissing the writ petitions filed by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear hijabs in colleges.

The court said that the garment was not part of 'Essential Religious Practice' and that no compelling case was made out for invalidating the government order against it.