Bengaluru: Landmark judgement of the three-judge bench of the High Court ruled that the wearing of hijabs does not part of the essential religious faith under the Islamic law makes Muslim students quandary whether to attend colleges without a hijab or not.

Muslim students of government pre-university college in Udupi, who filed the main petitions before the Karnataka High Court has skipped the preparatory exams. The six Muslim students have not attended the classes after High Court upheld the ban of wearing hijabs in the classrooms.

Udupi BJP MLA, Raghupati Bhat who is also Chairman of the College Management Committee requested the students to attend the class and take the exams. He has send personal requests to six Muslim students to attend the classes. On Wednesday classes are resumed as usual in Udupi and Kundapura, both cities were the epicentre of Hijab controversies in January and February 2022.

Meanwhile, eight students of Kembhavi village PU college in Yadgir district were not allowed to appear for exams wearing hijab on Tuesday.

Eight students who had come to Kembhavi village PU college in Yadgir district of Karnataka wearing hijabs to take their second PU preparatory examinations were sent home.

Before the High Court's interim ban, this college allowed the students to wear the hijab inside classrooms.

Interestingly these students had taken the exams yesterday without a hijab but refused to remove them after High Court judgement.  When the authorities failed to convince them, they were asked to leave the college premises.

"The college earlier allowed hijab but we were simply following the High Court's interim order. We tried to convince the students not to wear the hijab. They abided by that. But today, they refused to remove it and take their exams," Chandrakanth J Halli, Yadgir district Deputy Director of Department of Pre-University, said.

HC Judgement: High Court has dismissed the batch of petitions and upheld the government order banning wearing hijabs in the classrooms.

The three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice J.M. Khaji observed that the wearing of hijab will not come under the essential religious rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Court has also stated that government has the power to prescribe uniforms in the schools and colleges in the state.

The requirement of uniform is a reasonable restriction on the fundamental right to freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a), the court mentioned in the judgement. The government has the power to pass the government order and no case is made out for its invalidation, the court stated.

While framing four questions made out during the course of arguments, the bench has to answered each questions and uphold the government order dated February 5, banning the wearing of hijabs in government schools and colleges. Government can impose reasonable restrictions on essential faith by prescribing uniform rules in the schools and colleges, the bench observed.

There is no case made out by the petitioners regarding government order is unconstitutional and against the principles of natural justice. The government has the power to frame rules under the Karnataka Education Act, the three-judge bench pointed out.

The bench has upheld the government order effectively banning the wearing of the hijab (headscarves) by Muslim girl students in educational institutions in the State.