Court didn't uphold basic right, it's a travesty: Omar Abdullah on Hijab verdict

Bengaluru, Mar 15: Disappointed by the Karnataka High Court's order on the Hijab row, former J&K CM Omar Abdullah claimed that the hijab row was not about clothing but about the right of a woman to choose how she wants to dress.

Omar Abdullah tweeted, "Very disappointed by the verdict of the Karnataka High Court. Regardless of what you may think about the hijab it's not about an item of clothing, it's about the right of a woman to choose how she wants to dress. That the court didn't uphold this basic right is a travesty."

Hijab is not an essential religious practise in Islam, the Karnataka High Court ruled on Tuesday.

The demand by a section of Muslim girls in an Udupi pre-university college to wear Hijab inside their classrooms erupted into a major row after some Hindu students turned up in saffron shawls with the issue spreading to other parts of the state, even as the government insisted on a uniform norm.

While rejecting a batch of petitions, the court said that the prescription of a school uniform is only a reasonable restriction. The prescription of a school uniform is also constitutionally permissible, the Bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi said.