The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will set up a bench to hear a series of pleas challenging the Karnataka High Court‘s verdict that refused to lift the hijab ban in the state’s educational institutions, adding that one of the judges is out of order, leading to delays. A bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Raman and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli took note of senior counsel Meenakshi Arora, appearing for one of the appellants, that the appeals had already been filed in March against the high court’s order and had not yet come up for hearing.
“I will set up a bench. One of the judges is not well,” the CJI said, adding, “Wait. If the judges were well, the matter would have come up.”On July 13, the Supreme Court agreed to hear petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court’s verdict on the matter. It was then mentioned by lawyer Prashant Bhushan who said that girls are missing out on education and facing problems.”
Earlier, appeals against the March 15 verdict of the High Court, which rejected petitions seeking permission to wear hijab in the classroom, were also mentioned for an urgent hearing on April 26.Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against the Karnataka High Court’s verdict, which held that wearing the hijab is not part of an essential religious practice that can be protected under Article 25 of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed by a section of Muslim girl students of the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi seeking permission to wear hijab in class.The school uniform requirement is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible, against which students cannot object, the high court said.In one of the pleas filed in the Supreme Court, the petitioner said that the High Court erred in creating a dichotomy between freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, from which the court concluded that those who profess a religion cannot have a right of conscience.
The Supreme Court failed to notice that the right to wear hijab falls within the ambit of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Freedom of conscience is said to be part of the right to privacy, he said. The plea said the petitioner had approached the High Court seeking redress for the alleged violation of their fundamental rights against the Government Order dated February 5, 2022, issued under Sections 7 and 133 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983.
The Supreme Court insisted that the government had the power to issue the impugned order dated February 5, 2022 and there was no suit to set it aside. With the said order, the Karnataka government has banned the wearing of clothing that violates equality, integrity and public order in schools and colleges, which Muslim girls have challenged in the Supreme Court.The petitioners challenged the government’s February 5 order in the apex court that wearing the Islamic headscarf was an innocent practice of faith and a fundamental religious custom and not a mere display of religious jingoism. The petitioners also argued that the restriction violates the freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a). A) and Article 21 on personal freedom.
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