‘Wearing hijab is fundamental right’ HC told that Karnataka’s dress code guideline is violative of fundamental rights

 Hijab controversy: HC told that Karnataka’s dress code guideline is violative of fundamental rights

High Court of Karnataka commences hearing on petitions filed by Muslim girls questioning ban on hijab in colleges

The Karnataka High Court commenced hearing a batch of petitions, filed by Muslim girls studying in government pre-university colleges in Udupi district, questioning the ban on wearing hijab (head scarf) in colleges.
Justice Krishna S. Dixit, before whom the petitions came up for hearing, at the outset requested the advocates, “Let us keep aside passions and emotions, and go by the laws, the reasons, and the Constitution.”
Advocate Mohammed Tahir requested that four petitioner students of Government PU College for Girls, Udupi, be temporarily allowed to attend classes by wearing the dupatta, which is a part of the uniform prescribed by the college, in the form of a head scarf for now, as only two months are left for the end of the current academic year, during the pendency of the petitions.

Advocate-General Prabhuling K. Navadgi said that the issue is now not confined to only four students, but a general question of law has arisen on the right to wear hijab in educational institutions.

The Court agreed to first hear a petition, filed by Aishat Shifa and Thairin Begum of Government PU College, Kundapur, as it has questioned the legality of the latest Government Order, issued on February 5, 2022, prescribing guidelines for a dress code for both government and private schools, and pre-university colleges in Karnataka in the light of the hijab controversy.

Senior Advocate Devadatta Kamat, appearing for the petitioners, has argued that the petitioners are not talking about wearing burqa or veil, but only a head scarf while contending that wearing of hijab is an ‘essential religious practice’ prescribed in the Holy Quran. Hence, the State Government has no regulatory power as wearing of hijab is protected under the right to freedom of religion in Article 25 of the Constitution.

Mr. Kamat also contended that the right to wear a dress is a facet of the fundamental right to speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a), and threshold of ‘public order’ should be extremely high to impose any restriction under Article 19(2).

If wearing of hijab is a ‘public order issue’, how is that Muslim girls wearing hijab outside is not a ‘public order issue’ but it becomes one when they enter college, Mr. Kamat contended.

It has also been contended that the GO of February 5 violates the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, as interpreted by the apex court in Justice Puttaswamy’s case.

It has been argued by Mr. Kamat that Sections 7 and 113 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, under which the GO of February 5 was issued, have no reference to a dress code, and hence the government had no competence to interfere to lay down policy.

Mr. Kamat contended that the judgments of Kerala and Madras High Courts, cited in the GO of February 5, are not applicable in the present case as facts in those judgments are different.

He alleged that these students, who were earlier refused entry into the college since the last few days, were on February 7 allowed entry, but were segregated from other students and made to sit in a separate hall.

The A-G disputed the correctness of this allegation.

HC requests students and public to maintain peace

The High Court requested the student community and public at large to maintain peace and tranquility in Karnataka when the court is hearing the legal arguments on the ban on wearing hijab in colleges.
“This court has full faith in the wisdom and virtue of the public at large, and hopes that the same would be put to practice,” Justice Dixit said in his brief order after the A-G, at the end of the hearing, pointed out that there is a need for the court to restrain protests and demonstrations, which may lead to a law and order issue when the court is hearing the matter. The A-G cited an order issued by the apex court in the farm agitation issue.
Senior Advocate Devadatta Kamat broadly agreed with the suggestion made by the A-G and assured the court that the petitioners would cooperate in this regard, but asked whether it would be possible to restrain the right of those, who are not before the court, from resorting to protests.

‘Wearing hijab is fundamental right’: Siddaramaiah defends Karnataka students

Congress leader Siddaramaiah said the barring of students wearing the hijab is a politically motivated move, and that the government must take a stand on the issue

As more colleges in Karnataka have started denying entry to Muslim students wearing the hijab, the Congress in Karnataka has come out in support of the students’ right to wear the religious headscarf. Wearing the hijab is a fundamental right of the students, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said to reporters. He also noted that by preventing them from attending classes, their right to education was being violated. Several educational institutions in Karnataka have started to bar students from wearing the hijab, though there is no government-mandated rule against the same. On February 2, a row broke out at the Government Pre-University College in Kundapura after a group of students wore saffron shawls to college, following which it was decided to bar students from wearing both the saffron shawl and the hijab in the college. 

Questioning the move, Siddaramaiah said, “Muslim girls have been wearing headscarf since the beginning. It is their fundamental right. Were they (students) wearing a saffron shawl earlier, whenever they come to colleges and schools? This is politically motivated. That's why the government should take a stand.” He went on to say, “Education is a fundamental right. If you prevent them from coming to school, what does it indicate? Is it not a violation of a fundamental right? The girls are from the Muslim community, they should not be deprived of getting education.” Many critics have also said that students have the right to wear the hijab, as the Constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom of religion.

After Udupi, more Karnataka colleges close doors to students wearing hijab 

A authorities of a PU college in Kundapura closing the gates on students wearing the hijab has surfaced, even as the issue remains unresolved in Udup

On Thursday, February 3, over 20 girls from the Government Pre University College in Kundapur in Udupi district of Karnataka were suddenly stopped at the gates of their college by their own lecturers, just as they were coming in for their morning classes. The upset girls asked the teachers why they were doing this, reminded them that it’s a question of their education, that their exams were just two months away; but the teachers refused to let them in, closing the gates on their faces, even as they let others come through. The reason: the college had suddenly decided to deny entry to students wearing a hijab.

“We are students, we have been wearing the hijab to college for so long,” the girls are heard saying, in a video of the incident that has been widely shared. They said that they have been wearing the hijab to class for years, but it has become an issue only now.

This is one of the many educational institutions in Karnataka which are now waging a war on the hijab — the religious headscarf worn by Muslim girls and women. Most of these institutions have had no problem with the hijab until recently, but the issue has now taken centre stage in Karnataka. Critics say the hijab is a right for students as the Constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom of religion. The hijab row rages even as the offering of namaz is being attacked in other spaces.

In the government college in Kundapur, which is a co-educational college, a group of students wore the saffron shawl to the college on Wednesday. This prompted the college authorities along with Kundapur’s BJP MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty, to hold a meeting with the parents. In the meeting, a parent was heard questioning the college about their decision to ban the hijab to deal with the saffron scarf issue.

"What are we asking? To wear the hijab — that is the Islamic rule. It is our culture, we have to do that. The government is taking time (to decide), why not let them wear it till then? Why are you opposing? Why is the college principal opposing? You told them not to come inside and stay outside the gate. You should not create a controversy with students, sir,” a parent was heard saying.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced the closure of all high schools and colleges in the state for the next three days. He has also appealed for peace. “I appeal to all the students, teachers and management of schools and colleges as well as people of Karnataka to maintain peace and harmony. I have ordered closure of all high schools and colleges for the next three days. All concerned are requested to cooperate,” Bommai said in a tweet. Tension had prevailed at some educational institutions in Udupi, Shivamogga, Bagalkote and other parts of the state, during protests for and against hijab today, forcing the police and authorities to intervene.

A section of Muslim girls are demanding permission wearing headscarves to college, while the state government has cracked the whip making uniforms mandatory for students attending classes in educational institutions. There have been several instances during the last few days, especially in coastal Karnataka, where some Muslim girl students, turning up in hijab, were not being allowed into classes, and Hindu boys and girls responding with saffron shawls, also being barred from classes.

The issue that initially began in January at a Government PU College in Udupi where six students who attended classes wearing headscarves in violation of the stipulated dress code were sent out, has spread to a few other colleges in the city and in nearby Kundapur and Byndoor.

State education Minister CT Ravi has maintained the government stand of not allowing hijabs, saying schools and colleges should have a uniform code. In a tweet on Tuesday, Ravi said “Those who did not shed a tear for the brilliant Tamil Nadu student #Lavanya are crying for some FOOLS whose only aim in life is to wear Hijab to college.”

Protests erupted at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi today after a large group of students wearing saffron stoles and headgears raised slogans in the college campus as hijab clad Muslim girls were staging a protest “demanding justice”, forcing the police and college authorities to intervene.

According to police sources, a minor stone pelting incident was reported near a college in Bagalkote and few students even tried to barge into the campus, whom police dispersed using mild force. A similar incident was also reported at a college in Shivamogga district, and police had to intervene to bring the situation under control, the sources added.

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