The Supreme Court said on Wednesday, 16 March, that it would hear appeals challenging the Karnataka High Court order upholding the ban on hijabs in educational institutions after the Holi vacation, news agency ANI reported.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli stated that the court would consider hearing the plea after advocate Sanjay Hegde asked for an urgent hearing on behalf of the petitioners.
Asserting that the matter was pressing, Hegde said, "The urgency is that there are several girls who have to attend colleges. List this on Monday."
In response, CJI Ramana said, "Others have mentioned too. We will see. We will post the matter... after Holi vacations."
Karnataka HC Verdict on Hijabs
After months of political upheaval and 11 days of hearings, a three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, 15 March, upheld the restrictions on Muslim women wearing hijabs in educational institutions.
The bench held that the right to wear a hijab was not constitutionally protected.
In its verdict, the bench comprising 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."
Subsequently, a plea was moved in the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court's order by a student named Niba Naaz.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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