Single bench of Karnataka High Court has referred the Hijab ban matter to larger bench. The single bench has refused to pass interim orders permitting girls to attend colleges wearing Hijab and said that interim relief is to be considered by the larger bench.
The Karnataka High Court has referred the case of the Hijab ban in schools and colleges in the state to a larger bench. The single bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit said that the matter requires consideration of a larger bench and that the larger bench will only decide on granting interim relief to the petitioners. During the course of the hearing, petitioners had sought an interim relief. To this, the Advocate General said “interim order at this stage will be amounting to allowing the petition”. The AG added that petitions are misconceived. “Each institution has been given autonomy. State does not take a decision. Therefore prima facie case is not made out,” the official said. The College Development Council (CDC) argued that the prescription of uniforms was there for one year. “Nobody complained earlier now it is raised. CDC has met every year and all stakeholders have been consulted and passed the decision,” it said. The hijab protests began last month at the Government Girls PU College in Udupi when students alleged that they had been barred from classes for insisting on wearing hijab.