No interim relief for students on Hijab in Karnataka

Story by  ATV | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 2 Years ago
Representational image
Representational image

 

Karnataka

The Karnataka High Court on Monday refused to grant any interim relief to the two degree college students of Bhandarkar College of Arts and Science, Udupi, who had sought a direction to the college to allow them to attend classes wearing hijab.

A single bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit refused interim relief while hearing a petition filed by two students of Bhandarkar College of Arts and Science, Udupi. The bench said that the interim order passed by the full bench on February 10 has come to the fore at present and hence the single bench cannot grant any other relief in the matter, especially when the hearing is going on before the full bench.

In this order, the bench said, "When important questions of law are being debated before the full bench on a day-to-day basis, the students of degree colleges, according to the news published in Live Law, a website that deals with legal matters, no interim relief can be granted to the petitioners other than the relief granted by the full bench."

According to Live Law's report, the Full Bench in its interim order on February 10 directed that "in order to consider all these petitions, we shall allow all students, regardless of their religion or belief within the classroom, to wear saffron shawls, and related matters." The wearing of scarves, hijabs, religious flags or other related matters is prohibited."

The Full Bench further clarified that its order was limited to institutions with a prescribed dress code. "We make it clear that this order is limited to those institutions where the college development committees have prescribed the student dress code/uniform."

On 8 February, the Single Bench had de-linked the present petition by referring a batch of petitions seeking to declare the wearing of Hijab as an essential religious practice to the larger Bench. The petition was de-linked as no relief was sought for declaring the right to wear the hijab as a fundamental right.

It has been said in the petition that the petitioner is pursuing BBA course in Bhandarkar College of Arts and Science, Udupi. He said that he has been wearing his regular head scarf over the college uniform like any other Muslim student since the day of admission and there is a specific rule that allows Muslim girl students to wear the headscarf.

The petition said that since the inception of the college, there was always a cordial relationship between the students and from the very beginning Muslim girls used to wear dupatta on their heads without any hindrance. Apart from this, a specific rule was mentioned in the rule book of the college which allowed students to wear hijab.

It is also said that there is no such rule under the UGC Act or the Karnataka State University Act that prescribes any uniform except indecent attire for college students. Apart from this, it has been alleged that the petitioners and other Muslim students are being specifically targeted.