Hijab row: Karnataka HC refers matter to larger bench

Bengaluru, Feb 09: The Karnataka High Court's single bench of Justice Krishna Dixit referred petitions challenging the ban on hijab in colleges to a larger bench.

Justice Krishan Dixit, who was hearing the petitions said all these matter do give rise to certain constitutional questions of seminal importance in the light of some aspect of personal law.

However, advocate Kaleeshwaram Raj pointed out that the Madras and Kerala HC judgments on previous hijab-related issues were decided by single judge benches.

"Having regard to the enormity of questions of importance which are debated, the court is of the considered opinion that the papers be put at the hand of CJ to decide if a larger bench can be constituted in the subject matter,'' the court observed.

"Even interim prayers merit consideration at the hands of larger bench that may be constituted by CJ in his discretion and therefore the arguments advanced on interim prayers are reproduced here" the Court stated in its order.

On Tuesday, Justice Krishna S. Dixith appealed to the students and people to maintain peace and tranquility as the hijab row escalated in parts of the state.

The petitions sought a declaration from the Court that they have a "fundamental right to practice essential religious practices, including wearing of Hijab as per Islamic faith, on the college premises," the single bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit said.

"This Court requests the students and the public to maintain peace and tranquility. This Court has full faith in the wisdom and virtue of public at large and hopes that the same would be put to practice," the judge said.

Asking people to have faith in the Indian Constitution, Justice Dixit observed that only some mischievous people were keeping the issue burning. He also pointed out that agitations, sloganeering and students attacking each other were not good.

Earlier, Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi pleaded before the Court to pass an interim order that there should be no public protests or demonstrations in the state. Advocate Devadatt Kamat appearing for the petitioner-students who wanted hijab to be permitted, too agreed with Navadgi. During the argument of the case, Kamat prayed for an interim order to allow the girls to attend classes with headscarves since the exams were approaching.

Kamat claimed that the February 5 order that mandated the students of government institutions to stick to their school uniform as prescribed by the department and banned wearing any cloth that disturbed peace, harmony and law and order, was against the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Pointing out that some hijab-clad students were allowed inside the school premises but were made to sit separately, he termed it as 'religious apartheid'.

To this, Navadgi objected saying such statements will have far-reaching consequences. Since end of December last year, students protesting against their schoolmates wearing hijab started coming to a college in Udupi wearing saffron scarves.

The hijab-versus-saffron scarves issue then spread to some other institutions in other parts of the state such as Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Hassan, Chikkaballapura, Mandya, Kalaburagi, Bagalkote, Belagavi and Vijayapura. In Bagalkote, clashes were reported followed by a mild lathi-charge by the police on Tuesday whereas in Udupi there was a massive demonstration.

While the matter was pending before the court, students in some institutions remained unrelenting. In view of deteriorating law and order in some educational institutions, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai ordered closure of high schools and colleges for the next three days in the state.