After a marathon hearing of nearly 23 hours spread over 11 days, the High Court of Karnataka on Friday reserved its verdict on the petitions filed by nine Muslim girl students, who are studying in two government pre-university colleges in Udupi district, questioning the denial of permission to wear hijab (headscarf) in classrooms.
A three-judge special Bench, consisting of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S. Dixit, and Justice Jaibunnisa M. Khazi, started hearing the arguments on the petitions on February 10 after a judge on February 9 said that important constitutional issues raised in the petitions required consideration by a larger Bench. The hearing took place for an average of two hours a day.
Claims and counterclaims
The main contention raised on behalf of the petitioners was that wearing of hijab is their fundamental right under the right to freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution of India while claiming that the hijab is an essential religious practice as prescribed in the Koran.
It was also argued on their behalf that they cannot be barred from wearing the hijab in classrooms as there is no law at present restricting wearing of hijabs in classrooms.
Contesting the petitioners’ claims, it was contended on behalf of the State Government that the hijab is not an essential religious practice, and the freedom of religion can be subjected to reasonable restrictions under constitutional provisions for maintaining institutional discipline.
The Government has also claimed that educational institutions can impose dress code/uniform prohibiting religious attire to ensure secular education.
Meanwhile, the Bench on Friday reserved its verdicts on two PIL petitions connected to the hijab row.
‘Restrain media’
Petitioners, Abdul Mansoor M. and two others, in their PIL petition, had sought an order to restrain 70 media organisations, including major daily newspapers, television new channels, and major social media platforms. The petitioner had alleged that the media had violated the privacy of Muslim girl students by chasing and humiliating them to capture their photos and videos in front of the colleges.
The Bench, though orally told the petitioners’ counsel, S. Balakrishnan, that the petitioners can lodge complaints with competent authorities, it reserved its order.
Probe sought
In his petition, Ghanshyam Upadhyay, an advocate from Mumbai, has sought a direction for investigation by an independent agency such as the National Investigation Agency, into agitations held all over the country.
Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Subhash Jha has alleged that the entire hijab episode “appears to be engineered” allegedly by radical Islamic organisations. He also suspected that organisations such as the Popular Front of India, the Student Islamic Organisation, the Campus Front of India and the Jamaat-e-Islami were behind instigating students and others.
Stating orally that petitioner should show prima facie material on his claims, the Bench reserved the order on the petition while stating it would examine the plea after considering a report submitted by the Government in a sealed cover on a first information report registered in Udupi and investigation carried out so far.
HC’s livestreamed videos on YouTube get 32 lakh views
The live streaming of the High Court’s proceedings on petitions on the hijab issue through the court’s official YouTube channel has witnessed a large viewership as livestreamed videos have already registered nearly 32 lakh views.
The proceedings of the court hall-1 in hijab petitions was live-streamed for 11 days between February 10 and February 25 from 2.30 p.m. till end of the proceedings on the days when the court heard the arguments.
While the first day’s proceedings on February 10 was watched live by around 40,000 people, it attracted a maximum of around 7.6 lakh views since it was livestreamed.
While live-streamed videos of February 15 got 6.8 lakh views, proceeding of February 14 has got 4.2 lakh views. The videos of the proceedings of the remaining days got views in the range of 1 lakh to 3 lakh.
