Supreme Court will hear the case of the hijab ban after Holi vacations

After the High Court denied their request for permission to wear the hijab in educational institutions, five Karnataka students went to the Supreme Court today. The hijab is not an essential religious practise, according to the Karnataka High Court, which upheld the ban on hijab in schools yesterday.

Niba Naaz, a student who was not among the five who had originally petitioned against the hijab ban, challenged the order in the Supreme Court shortly after the verdict. The lawyers for the five original petitioners will file an appeal with the Chief Justice of India today, requesting that the case be heard as soon as possible.

The Hijab controversy began in January of this year, when six girls wearing the hijab were allegedly barred from entering the Government PU College in Udupi. Following this, the girls sat outside the college in protest of being denied admission. Following this, the boys of several Udupi colleges began wearing saffron scarves to class. This protest spread to other parts of the state, resulting in a slew of protests and agitations across the state.

The Karnataka government intervened, stating that all students must wear the uniform and prohibiting both hijab and saffron scarves until the issue is resolved by an expert committee. While upholding the Karnataka government’s order, the Karnataka High Court stated that the requirement of uniform is a reasonable restriction to which students cannot object. The Karnataka High Court stated in its order that the hijab is a cultural practise that is worn as a measure of social security and that it is not mandated by the Holy Quran.

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