Bengaluru: As an interim order on a plea filed by a student who sought she is to be allowed to wear hijab in the classrooms, the Karnataka High Court on Friday urged students to return to classes instead of protesting over hijab and saffron shawls as it find education serves them better than protests.
The court had made oral observation in this regard on Thursday before reading out a seven-page interim order on the hijab row today.
The plea sought interim relief from the court for the students to continue to wear hijab in classrooms after some colleges mandated that the female students should remove their hijab to attend the classes.
The students protested against the ban, citing it is the right to practice religion guaranteed by the constitution being violated. As the controversy led the different college authorities to stop students with hijab on at the gates, and prompted other students to attend classes with saffron shawls.
The protests over hijab vs saffron shawls, later, blown out hand to witness sporadic incidents of violence and stone pelting, prompting the government to call for the closure of educational institutions in the state until the court pronounces an order.
"The interest of students would be better served by their returning to the classes than by the continuation of agitations and consequent closure of institutions. The academic year is coming to an end shortly," the high court full bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice J M Khazi stated in the interim order.
The court state that until further order, students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls (Bhagwa) scarfs, hijab, religious flags or the like, within the classroom.
"It hardly needs to be mentioned that ours is a country of plural cultures, religions, and languages. Being a secular State, it does not identify itself with any religion as its own. Every citizen has the right to profess and practice any faith of choice is true," the court said.
The court is of the opinion that the freedom of religion is not absolute and, weather wearing of hijab in the classroom is part of the essential religious practice of Islam in the light of constitutional guarantees, needs a deeper examination.
The matter will be heard again by the full bench on February 14.