Karnataka hijab row: Banning hijab tantamount to banning Quran, petitioners tell HC; hearing resumes tomorrow

Petitioners challenging the hijab ban on Thursday told the Karnataka High Court that banning the hijab was tantamount to banning Quran, according to several media reports. As per Live Law, Dr Vinod Kulkarni, appearing on behalf of petitioners against the government order,  began by saying that the hijab issue was creating hysteria and was affecting the mental health of Muslim girls.  He added as per the Preamble of the Constitution, guarding health is the duty of the State. Kulkarni said, “Interim relief I am claiming is that pass an order to let Muslim girls sport hijab at least on Friday, on Juma day, most auspices day for Muslims and the holy month of Ramzan, which is coming soon.” The chief justice said that in prayer A, they say students should wear stipulated uniforms, in prayer B they say allow to wear a uniform with hijab. To this, Kulkarni replied that a hijab is part of the uniform. The chief justice said if Kulkarni wanted them to allow hijabs on Fridays, they would consider what he argues, Live Law said. As per Bar & Bench, quoting a song sung by late Lata Mangeshkar Kuch pakar kuch khona hain kuch khokar kuch pana hai, Kulkarni said, “we have to lose something to gain something more.”

“It is disturbing the mental health of individuals, and the Quran cannot be ignored. Hijab is not against public order or health or morality. Enough has been said about that, I will not dwell on it,” said Kulkarni. As per Bar & Bench, Kulkarni further submitted that the holy Quran said that Muslim women should sport hijab and not expose their body parts like head, neck, etc. The chief justice then asked Kulkarni to show where aforesaid was mentioned in Quran. In response, Kulkarni said that would show that at a later juncture.

“We cannot accept it unless you show it”, said Chief Justice Awasthi. As per Live Law, Kulkarni said, “Much has been said about it, banning hijab tantamount to banning Quran.” “I am a devout Brahmin myself, my submission is it may amount to the banning of Quran. My submission is that please pass an order today to allow the wearing of hijab on Friday and ensuing Ramzan.” Kulkarni concluded his submission urging the court to pass an interim order allowing hijabs. Senior advocate AM Dar, also representing the petitioners then began his arguments.“This GO is unconstitutional and cryptic in nature,” he said.

The court told Dar that necessary particulars had not been given in the petition as to the cause of action. The writ petition was withdrawn with liberty to file afresh, Bar & Bench reported. The Karnataka High Court bench was then adjourned till tomorrow. The State is likely to commence its agreements through Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi tomorrow.

 Seeking half an hour as an intervenor, advocate Subhash Jha who is in support of the current GO, said, “We will demonstrate that this is not the first time our court has been called upon to decide on the issue of hijab and beard. Courts have held hijab is not integral”.

“Right now we are not permitting any intervenor. We will decide whether to allow intervenors after hearing petitioners and respondents,” the chief justice said.

 As per ANI, police have clamped prohibitory orders in Hubballi-Dharwad under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) within a 200-metre radius of all educational institutions with immediate effect till 28 February.

Police commissioner Labhu Ram, in the order, stated, “In exercise of the powers conferred under section 144(1) CrPC of- 1973, I, Labhu Rum, IPS, Commissioner of Police and Additional District Magistrate, Hubli-Dharwad City hereby prohibit any gathering, agitation or protest of any type within the area of 200-metre radius from the gate(s) of the Schools, PU Colleges, Degree Colleges or other similar Educational Institutions in Hubli-Dharwad twin City. With immediate effect i.e. from 16-02-2022 to 28-02-2022.” He further said that any violation of the above-mentioned order shall be liable for prosecution under the provisions of Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), ANI said. “If anyone considers having been adversely affected by this order, he/she can file an appeal to modify or cancellation of this order under section 144(5) and 144(6) to this office or the Government of Karnataka respectively,” the order reads. The move comes amid the ongoing ‘hijab-saffron shawl’ controversy, ANI said. Meanwhile, Karnataka’s educational institutions, State Minister of Primary and Secondary Education BC Nagesh on Wednesday said that all schools are running properly and incidents of girls returning from school were reported in only 2-3 institutions. According to ANI, the hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU College in the Udupi district of the state alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab. Following this incident, students of different colleges arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles. The situation was similar in several colleges in the Udupi district. The Pre-University Education Board has released a circular stating that students can wear only the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges, ANI said. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.