While Judge Hemant Gupta rejected the appeals against the Supreme Court ruling, Judge Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed them (representative image)
The hijab controversy started in January this year from Udupi in Karnataka after a group of students claimed they were barred from classrooms for wearing a hijab, look at the timeline of events that later unfolded
The Supreme Court on October 13 issued a divided verdict on a series of pleas challenging the decision of the Karnataka High Court refusing to lift the ban on hijab in the state’s educational institutions. While Judge Hemant Gupta rejected the appeals against the Supreme Court ruling, Judge Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed them. The hijab controversy started in January this year from Udupi in Karnataka after a group of students claimed they were barred from classrooms for wearing a hijab. The students started protesting against the board of directors.
Several petitions have been filed in the apex court against the Karnataka High Court ruling that wearing the hijab is not part of the essential religious practice that can be protected under Article 25 of the constitution. Here’s a timeline of events that took place in 2022:
January 1st: Six girls said they were not allowed to enter their classroom wearing the hijab at a government PU College in Udupi and protested outside the college because they had been denied entry. The students held a press conference, where they said permission had been sought, but university authorities refused to let them enter the classroom with their faces covered.
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January 26: The Karnataka Education Department decided to set up a committee to create guidelines for uniforms in pre-university (PU) colleges across the state. The PU board requested all colleges to maintain the status quo until the new guidelines came into effect.
January 31st: Several written petitions were submitted to the Karnataka High Court by Muslim students seeking the right to wear hijab in classrooms under Articles 14, 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India. In their petition, they claimed that wearing hijab is a fundamental right and that the constitution granted freedom to profess, practice and propagate any religion.
February 5: Karnataka government imposed a ban on hijab in classrooms.
The issue took on a snowball effect and protests were staged across the state – by those who supported the hijab and counter-demonstrations by youths wearing saffron-colored scarves and demanding that the girls step into line.
February 16: The government of Karnataka issued a circular citing the provisional order of the Supreme Court directing all schools and colleges under the Department of Welfare for Minorities not to allow hijabs, saffron stoles and scarves in classrooms.
Mar. 15: The Supreme Court had rejected the petitions filed by some of the Muslim students of the Government Pre-University Girls College at Udupi in Karnataka seeking permission to wear the hijab in classrooms, ruling that it is not part of the essential religious practice in the Islamic faith.
HC ruling challenged in Supreme Court hours after ruling.
July 13: Supreme Court agrees to hear petitions filed against Karnataka HC verdict.
September 22: The Supreme Court reserved the verdict on oral argument.
The bench heard the arguments of the counsels representing the state government, teachers and petitioners who brought forward the apex court to challenge the Karnataka High Court ruling and refused to lift the ban on hijab in state educational institutions .
October 13: Two Supreme Court judges have issued a divided verdict on a series of petitions challenging the decision of the Karnataka High Court refusing to lift the ban on hijab in state educational institutions. While Judge Hemant Gupta rejected the appeals, Judge Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed them, arguing that “it is a matter of choice, nothing more, nothing less”. The case has now been referred to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate direction.
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