Follow prescribed uniform till hijab case is disposed: HC

Bengaluru: In a significant statement, the Karnataka High Court hearing the hijab case, on Wednesday said the uniform prescribed by schools and colleges should be followed till the disposal of the case.

“We are making it very clear that whether it is a degree college or a PU college, if a uniform has been prescribed, that has to be followed so long as the matter is pending before the court,” Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi told advocate Mohammed Tahir who is the counsel for one of the petitioners seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms.

Hijab row: HC seeks details on CFI role from state govt
The Karnataka High Court, hearing the hijab case, on Wednesday sought to know from the state government the role of Campus Front of India (CFI). On January one, six girl students of a college in Udupi attended a press conference held by CFI in the coastal town protesting against the college authorities denying them entry into classrooms wearing hijab. This was four days after they requested the principal permission to wear hijab in classes.

Till then, students used to wear the headscarf to the campus, but entered the classroom after removing it, college principal Rudre Gowda had said. “The institution did not have any rule on hijab-wearing since no one used to wear it to the classroom in the last 35 years. The students who came with the demand had the backing of outside forces,” Gowda had said. Senior counsel S S Naganand, representing the Government PU College for Girls, told the bench that the hijab row was started by some students owing allegiance to CFI.