Karnataka hijab row: ‘Don’t spread this to larger levels’, says SC declining urgent hearing
The Karnataka High Court on Thursday said that it is considering whether wearing a Hijab comes within Fundamental Rights.
FollowThe Supreme Court on Friday declined an urgent hearing to petition against Karnataka High Court’s interim order to ban hijab, other religious attire in schools and colleges in the state.
On the plea of senior advocate Devdutt Kamat, appearing for petitioner, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) said that the Karnataka High Court should be allowed to hear the hijab matter for now.
“We are sitting for the protection of fundamental rights of all citizens. We’ll listen when the time is right,” CJI NV Ramana said.
Also read: Karnataka HC says no religious attire till final judgment, adjourns hijab hearing till Monday
“I don’t want to express anything. Don’t spread these things to larger levels... You also have to think over whether it's proper to bring these things to Delhi, national-level issues and all that,” the Chief Justice noted.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, pointed out that the interim order has not yet come out and that Kamat should have pointed that out. Kamat replied saying he had said so in the Special Leave Petition.
The Karnataka High Court on Thursday said that it is considering whether wearing a Hijab comes within Fundamental Rights.
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“We are considering the issue of whether the wearing of headscarf comes within the Fundamental Rights. We are also considering whether wearing a headscarf is an essential part of the religious practice,” a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said while hearing petitions questioning the ban on the wearing of hijabs by students in schools and colleges.
The Karnataka High Court bench hearing the hijab ban case on Thursday said students should not wear religious dress to colleges. The matter will now be heard on February 14. In the interim, the Karnataka government has decided to resume classes in a phased manner for students of classes 1-10 from next week.
Also read: Karnataka hijab row: Muslim students move SC challenging HC’s interim order
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