Hijab not essential practice in Islam, Karnataka govt tells HC; hearing underway
Premium- The AG told the court that issues related to wearing hijab turned religious and the intervention of the state was, therefore, called for
Hijab row: The Karnataka High Court on Friday resumed hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the ban on hijab in educational institutes in the state.
Senior Advocate Prof Ravivarma Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, urged the HC to discontinue and suspend live-streaming proceedings.
He claimed live streaming was causing a lot of unrest in the society as the observations were taken out of context, and that has has become counterproductive.
To this, Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said let the people hear what is the stand of the respondents.
The Advocate General said the state government has taken the stand that the hijab does not come under the essential religious practices in Islam.
The AG told the court that issues related to wearing hijab turned religious and the intervention of the state was, therefore, called for.
He said that protests and unrest went on, therefore the impugned order of February 5 was passed. The state govt has ordered that the students should wear uniforms prescribed by colleges.
The state government does not want to intervene in religious matters, the AG told HC.
Sr Advocate AM Dar informed the court that he has filed fresh petitions on behalf of 5 girl students after taking care of objections made by the court. The Court will hear these petitions on February 21.
Last week, the High Court restrained all the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and any religious flag within the classroom.
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