After nearly four months of turmoil and two weeks of court hearings in Karnataka, the high court will finally pronounce its judgment on the hijab row plaguing the state on Tuesday. The hearing for the verdict will commence at 10:30 am on Tuesday.
The high court decided to reserve its judgment on the case after hearing both parties. The bench headed by high court Chief Justice R Awasthi along with Justice Krishna Dixit and Justice JM Khazi will deliver their verdict on the case between the state government and the female Muslim petitioners.
Background of the hijab row:
The hijab controversy erupted and has been raging since January, after students of a pre-university college in Karnataka’s Udupi were prohibited from wearing headscarves (hijab), as part of their religious obligation, in the college premises. The issue blew up after Hindu students turned up to their colleges wearing saffron scarves in a protest against hijabi Muslims being allowed to wear headscarves.
The state was forced to form a committee to decide over the issue and prohibited the students from wearing any religious garment, including the hijab until a decision is reached.
However, a number of protests by saffron-clad students and Muslims around the state forced the state to shut down schools and colleges for a few days.
The Karnataka high court has been hearing a petition filed by a Hijabi student of a PU college in Udupi, and for a long time did not provide any temporary relief to the students.
Educational institutions that were shut down by the state were directed to reopen ensuring that the state’s diktat, which prevents any religious garment from being worn to the institutions, is strictly adhered to.
As the high court of Karnataka provided no temporary relief up to date, protests in support of the girls have erupted all over the country, and beyond.
