'Non-Essential Religious Practice': Karnataka HC Upholds Hijab Ban

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ruled that wearing a Hijab was not an essential religious practice in the Islamic faith and upheld the government-imposed ban.

The high court added that students could not object to the prescription of a uniform which was a reasonable restriction of one's right to free speech and privacy.

The high court on February 11 had passed an interim order banning the hijab and the saffron scarf in educational institutions where a uniform is prescribed.

During the hearing, the government college had submitted that it was the Campus Front of India (CFI) a "rank radical" organization, and not the students who were protesting the hijab ban.

The state government on the other hand argued that wearing a hijab was not an essential right, it also submitted that educational institutions were no place to assert one's religious identity.