The Karnataka High Court has begun hearing on petitions challenging the ban on hijab in educational institutions in the state, news agency ANI reported.
The High Court hearing comes in the wake of the Bommai government's earlier diktat that said students can't wear saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and any religious flag in classrooms.
Following incidents of disturbance due to protests over the wearing of hijab in educational institutes, the state government had also closed them down for a couple of days.
Hearing on hijab row:
Senior Advocate Prof Ravivarma Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, refers to Karnataka Education Act, according to news agency ANI. The Act when educational institutions want to change uniform, they have to inform them one year in advance. As per Kumar, if they want to ban hijab, they'll have to inform one year in advance.
Also, he tells the court that since there's no prohibition against hijab, under what authority or rule students have been asked to stay out of class.
Senior schools reopened in Karnataka on Wednesday after the HC's interim order that allowed classes up to standard 10 to resume from February 16.
The hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of the government Girls PU college in the Udupi district alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab.
For now, the state government has imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 in the vicinities of pre-university colleges and degree colleges in the Udupi district.
Before that, the state government had declared a holiday for all high schools and colleges in the state for three days, from February 9, and it was subsequently extended up to February 16.
The Karnataka High Court, in its interim order pending consideration of all petitions related to the hijab row, last week had requested the state government to reopen educational institutions and restrained all the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and any religious flag in the classroom till the full order is passed on the matter.
