Benglauru: In a judgement that has far-reaching consequences, the three-judge Bench of the Karnataka High Court has ruled that the wearing of hijabs are not part of the essential religious faith protected in the Constitution. 

While dismissing the batch of the petitions, the Bench observed that  the wearing of hijab doesn't come under the essential religious rights guaranteed in the Constitution. The Court also stated that government has the power to prescribe uniforms in the schools and colleges in the state.

Police have heightened security arrangements across the state to avoid untoward incidents. To maintain public peace and order, the state government has banned large gatherings from March 15 to 19 in Mangaluru and Bengaluru.

The bench had reserved the verdict after a marathon hearing of 11 days of all the parties. Ten main petitions and 25 interim petitions were heard over the issue.

The Hijab row: The hijab row came to the fore on January 1 at Government PU College in Udupi, where six female students claimed that they were not allowed to enter classrooms wearing hijab. The students held a press conference, where they said that permission was sought but college authorities refused to let them enter the classroom with their faces covered.

Several petitions were filed in the Karnataka High Court on January 31 in which Muslim students sought the right to wear Hijabs in classrooms under Articles 14, 19, and 25 of the Constitution of India. The court heard it for the first time on February 8. Justice Dixit had referred the matter to the larger bench of the High Court.