SC likely to pronounce final verdict on Hijab ban tomorrow

The pronouncement of judgement is expected tomorrow as Justice Gupta, who is heading the bench, is due to retire on October 16. During the last hearing on the matter on September 22, the judges had reserved the judgment in the matter and had refused to lift the ban on hijab imposed by the Karnataka government.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court is likely to give the much-awaited decision in the Hijab ban case on Thursday, October 13. A Supreme Court bench comprising two judges, after considering all the arguments over petitions demanding a ban on hijab in schools and colleges in Karnataka, will deliver the final verdict.

A bench headed by Justice Hemant Gupta, along with Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia will pronounce the final verdict. The pronouncement of judgement is expected tomorrow as Justice Gupta, who is heading the bench, is due to retire on October 16. During the last hearing on the matter on September 22, the judges had reserved the judgment in the matter and had refused to lift the ban on hijab imposed by the Karnataka government. The arguments before the court reserved the orders had lasted for 10 days.

During the arguments in the apex court, a number of the counsel appearing for the petitioners had insisted that preventing the Muslim girls from wearing the hijab to the classroom will put their education in jeopardy as they might stop attending classes. Counsel for the petitioners had argued on various aspects, including the state government's February 5, 2022 order which banned wearing clothes that disturb equality, integrity, and public order in schools and colleges.

Some advocates had also argued that the matter be referred to a five-judge constitution bench. On the other hand, the counsel appearing for the state had argued that the Karnataka government order that kicked up a row over hijab was "religion neutral".

Insisting that the agitation in support of wearing hijab in educational institutions was not a "spontaneous act" by a few individuals, the state's counsel had argued in the apex court that the government would have been "guilty of dereliction of constitutional duty" if it had not acted the way it did.

On March 15, the high court dismissed the petitions filed by a section of Muslim students of the Government Pre-University Girls College in Karnataka's Udupi seeking permission to wear the hijab inside classrooms, ruling it is not a part of the essential religious practice in the Islamic faith. The state government's order of February 5, 2022, was challenged by some Muslim girls in the high court. Several pleas have been filed in the apex court challenging the high court verdict.