The Muslim girls are from pre-university (PU) colleges in the Udupi region of the state.
A full bench of the Karnataka High Court in India Tuesday dismissed a batch of petitions filed by Muslim girls seeking the right to wear hijabs or headscarves along with uniforms inside classrooms.
The Muslim girls are from pre-university (PU) colleges in the Udupi region of the state.
However, the court ruled that wearing of hijab is not an essential Islamic practice.
“We are of the considered opinion that wearing of the hijab by Muslim women does not make up an essential religious practice in Islamic faith,” the panel of three judges said, dismissing petitions by a group of Muslim students who challenged the relatively new ban.
“We are of the considered opinion that the prescription of a school uniform is a reasonable restriction constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to,” said the full bench also comprising Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi.
The High Court in its order also upheld a February 5 government order which suggested that the wearing of hijabs can be restricted in colleges where uniforms are prescribed, Indian Express reports.
In the wake of the hijab controversy, Muslim women holding placards take out a rally, in support of women’s right to wear ‘hijab’, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, in Thane.
“We are of the considered opinion that the government has the power to issue the impugned government order dated February 5, 2022, and no case is made out for its invalidation,” the full bench said.
The verdict comes after months of protests and widespread debate over the rights of Muslim women to wear the hijab in India, CBS News reports. The protests started in January at a government-run college in Karnataka state's Udupi district, when six teenage girls were barred from classes for wearing the head covering.