The Indian Supreme Court is Divided on Whether Hijab Should be Permitted on Schools

Seema Rai
Seema Rai

The issue stems from a ban in the BJP-ruled state of Karnataka that prohibits students from wearing headscarves in class

A panel of India’s highest court has expressed its disagreement with the decision to allow hijabs in classrooms and has referred the matter to the chief justice. Who will convene a larger bench to hear the case. The verdict is divided. The investigation is still ongoing. The case has been referred to the Chief Justice, who will convene a larger bench to hear it. “This is a step forward from what the Karnataka High Court gave us,” Anas Tanwir, a lawyer representing the Muslim girls, told Al Jazeera.

The hijab ban began in January of this year. When female Muslim students wearing hijab were barred from entering their classrooms at a government college in Karnataka’s Udupi district. As a result, more educational institutions throughout the state prohibited Muslim girls from wearing headscarves.

On March 15, the students petitioned the Karnataka High Court. Which upheld the ban and ruled that “the wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practise”. On March 15, the students filed a petition with the Karnataka High Court. Which upheld the ban and ruled that “wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practise in the Islamic faith.”

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The students then petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision

It stems from a February ban by the southern state of Karnataka prohibiting students from wearing headscarves in class. Which sparked protests by Muslim students and their parents, as well as counterprotests by Hindu students. “We have a difference of opinion,” said Justice Hemant Gupta, one of the two panel judges. As he delivered the decision on Thursday. But the judges did not say when the larger bench would be formed or when the next hearing would take place.

“It is ultimately a matter of choice,” Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said as he overturned the Karnataka High Court order.

Muslims constitute a sizable minority in India, accounting for 14% of the country’s 1.4 billion population in a South Asian country dominated by Hindus. Some Muslim students appealed to the Supreme Court a March ruling by a state court that upheld the ban.

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