The Supreme Court has given an assurance that a date would be fixed for a three-judge bench to hear the matter on the Hijab case soon.
The petitioner (girls) were presented by Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora who mentioned the matter before the Court.
The counsel for petitioner told the bench that the practical exams scheduled for next month and the delay in judgement shall affect Muslim students who were slated to appear.
It has requested for an interim directions which are needed in the matter so that the affected girl students may appear in the exams, she submitted.
Advocate Arora told the Court that this is the headscarf matter. The girls have practical exam from February 6, 2023 and this matter needs to be listed for interim directions. If they can appear.
The Chief Justice of India asked the petitioner council to mention this before the registrar. for a date to alloted.This is a three judge bench matter. We will do it.
The case is that of the ban issued by the government of Karnataka on the wearing of hijab by the Muslim girl students within the college campus.
The (girl students) who are the petitioner in the case have contended that post the split verdict, the affected students had to move from the private colleges from government colleges.
As the exams can be held only in government colleges, the petitioners request for directions to be issued before they would be permitted to appear for the February exams while wearing the hijab.
The ban was challenged before the Karnataka High Court earlier, which upheld the State’s ban.
After this, the matter reached the Supreme Court. In October last year, a two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court passed a split verdict in the case, with Justice (retired) Hemant Gupta upholding the ban and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia opining that the ban was liable to be struck down.