A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Karnataka High Court order on the wearing of hijab to educational institutes in the state.
The petition, filed by All India Muslim Personal Law Board, through its Secretary, Mohammed Fazlurrahim along with two other petitioners namely, Munisa Bushra and Jaleesa Sultana Yaseen, challenged the verdict passed by the full bench of Karnataka High Court.
The Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, an Islamic clerics organisation, has also filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the same verdict of Karnataka High Court.
The organisation said that the High Court judgement was based on an erroneous interpretation of the Holy Quran and the Hadith and a wrong understanding of Islamic law.
On March 24, the Supreme Court had refused to conduct urgent hearing on appeals challenging the Karnataka High Court order on wearing of hijab by female Muslim students in government educational institutions in the state.
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Senior Advocate Devadutt Kamat mentioned the matter before a Bench led by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana.
However, the CJI told the petitioners not to sensationalise the issue and refused to list the matter on a specific date.
When Kamat said the exams were starting from March 28 and that the petitioners would lose a year, since the authorities were not allowing them to enter the schools wearing hijab, the CJI said this has nothing to do with exams.
The Supreme Court also did not entertain Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s attempt to intervene and make his point on behalf of Karnataka government.
Filed by Niba Naaz, a student from Karnataka through Advocate Anas Tanwir, the Special Leave Petition contended that the High Court “failed to note that the right to wear hijab comes under the ambit of ‘expression’ and is thus protected under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution”.
It also contended that the High Court failed to take note of the fact that the right to wear Hijab comes under the ambit of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.
With regard to uniform, the plea said that the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, and the Rules made under the same, do not provide for any mandatory uniform to be worn by students.
On March 15, the Full Bench of Karnataka High Court, headed by Chief Justice Rituraj Awasthi and also comprising Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice J.M. Khazi, delivered its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by Muslim girls, challenging the Karnataka government order against wearing of hijab to education institutes.