Karnataka High Court Upholds State Government’s Order on Ban of Headscarves in Classrooms

16/03/2022

Jayantika Rao Tiruvaloor Viavoori

Women’s Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

After a tense month of protests after the Hijab ban in Karnataka (India), the state High Court maintained the state government’s order on the hijab by arguing that it is not “essential to Islam” (Qureshi 2022). The divisive debate regarding the banning of hijab in the classrooms started more than a month back in Udupi when six students wearing hijabs were barred from entering the classrooms. 

The verdict is in response to the petitions filed by the students of the pre-university college in Udupi seeking guidelines for permitting Muslim girls to attend classes while wearing their hijab. The petitioners had argued that the state government’s ban on religious attire violates their fundamental rights. On 15th March, the three-judge bench presented a 129-page order that quoted passages from the Quran and other books on Islam to posit that wearing the hijab is not an obligatory practice (Qureshi 2022). Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi argued that the state government had the power to prescribe uniform guidelines.

Many have argued that the court’s decision is “unconstitutional” (AlJazeera 2022). Nonetheless, Muslim students from Karnataka have moved to the Supreme Court to challenge the Karnataka High Court verdict. They argue that the Karnataka Education Act does not dictate any mandatory uniform.  

Sources and Further Reading

AlJazeera. (2022, 15 March). India Court Upholds Karnataka State’s Ban on Hijab in Class. AlJazeera. Retrieved 16 March from, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/15/india-court-upholds-karnataka-states-ban-on-hijab-in-class

Sharma, Nalini. (2022, March 15).  Hijab Row: Muslim Students Move Supreme Court Against Karnataka HC’s Judgment. India Today. Retrieved 16 March from,   https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/karnataka-hijab-case-high-court-verdict-petition-supreme-court-muslim-students-1925693-2022-03-15

Qureshi, Imran. (2022, March 15). Hijab Ban: Karnataka High Court Upholds Government Order on Headscarves. BBC. Retrieved 16 March from,  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60300009