The Udupi girls approached the High Court demanding that they should be allowed to enter classrooms while wearing Hijab

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court dismisses petitions challenging state ban on Hijab. In its verdict pronounced today the HC said wearing Hijab is not essential religious practice.

Five petitions had challenged the ban in court. The Karnataka High Court in its verdict further said that the restriction on wearing of uniform is reasonable and students can not object to.

“The prescription of uniform is constitutional and students can’t object to it”, Karnataka HC said in its verdict.

The HC also said that no case was made out by the petitioners.

10:15 am The Karnataka High Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, is slated to pronounce the judgement on the ban imposed on students wearing Hijab today i.e. March 15 Tuesday

The court is expected to deliver the verdict at around 10:30 am.

The state government has banned large gatherings for a week in state capital Bengaluru “to maintain public peace and order”. Mangalore too has banned large gatherings from March 15 to 19. The Udupi district administration has declared a holiday in schools and colleges today.

The matter has been listed in the first half of the day.

The three-judge bench, which also comprised Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice Qazi Zaibunnesa Mohiyuddin had reserved the matter for judgement earlier after hearing arguments and counter arguments.

Six students from the Udupi Pre-University College for girls had started a protest over being refused to enter classes wearing a Hijab.

The protest later spread to other districts and became a major controversy, leading to tension, as some Hindu students started coming in saffron scarves.

The Udupi girls approached the High Court demanding that they should be allowed to enter classrooms while wearing Hijab.

Following the HC interim order that said no Hijab or saffron scarf is allowed in the schools and colleges, the petitioners challenged it in the Supreme Court.

However, the apex court refused to hear the matter and asked the petitioners to seek relief from the High Court.

Meanwhile , Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri has allowed a discussion on the matter in Karnataka Assembly Tuesday.

The Speaker allowed discussion on Hijab ban after Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy raised the issue in the Assembly on Monday and demanded that he should be allowed to talk about uniforms at schools and colleges in the state.