The Supreme Court has announced that it will decide on listing the Karnataka Hijab case, which concerns the ban on Muslim girls wearing the hijab (headscarf) in college campuses. On Wednesday, advocate Shadan Farasat mentioned the case before Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, stating that the ban had prevented the affected girls from taking exams. Farasat informed the court that the girls had already lost one year, and the upcoming exams were scheduled for March 9. The CJI responded by stating that he would “take a call on this”, Bar and Bench reported.
On January 23, Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora had also raised the case, stating that practical exams were scheduled for the Muslim students affected by the case. Arora had requested interim directions so that the affected girl students could take the exams. The court had then promised that a three-judge bench would hear the matter soon.
Last October, a division bench of the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on the government order (GO), which empowered government colleges in the state to ban the hijab for Muslim girl students on college campuses. Justice Hemant Gupta upheld the ban, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia struck it down, necessitating a hearing of the case by a larger bench.
The petitioner girl students argued that, following the split verdict, they moved from government colleges to private colleges. However, exams can only be held in government colleges, which is why the affected students must be allowed to wear the hijab during the exams.
