Karnataka Hijab Ban: What Supreme Court judges said in split verdict

NEW DELHI : Delivering separate judgements on Karnataka hijab ban verdict, the Supreme Court judges, Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia, emphasized upon and highlighted some important points. While Justice Gupta proposed to dismiss all the appeals, Justice Dhulia allowed all the appeals and set aside Karnataka High Court judgment which allowed ban on hijab in all educational institutions in the state. In light of the divergence of views, the matter will be placed before the Chief Justice of India for the constitution of an appropriate bench.

Also Read | Hijab Ban: Equality, dignity on trial for Muslim girl students in Karnataka

Meanwhile, Karnataka's primary and secondary education minister B C Nagesh said that the Karnataka HC order will remain valid following a split verdict by the SC.

A look at what the two judges majorly said in the top court:

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia

• “It is a matter of choice, nothing more and nothing less.”
• “It’s common knowledge that already a girl child, primarily in rural areas and semi-urban areas, has to face a lot of difficulties. She has to help her mother in daily chores, in cleaning and washing, before she goes to school. There are other difficulties as well. What I asked is are we making her life any better?”
• “By asking the girls to take off their hijab before they enter the school gates, is first an invasion on their privacy, then it is an attack on their dignity, and then ultimately it is a denial to them of secular education.”
• “Whether wearing hijab is an essential religious practice in Islam or not is not essential for the determination of this dispute. If the belief is sincere, and it harms no one else, there can be no justifiable reasons for banning hijab in a classroom”.
• "All the petitioners want is to wear a hijab! Is it too much to ask in a democracy?How is it against public order, morality or health or even decency or against any other provision of Part III of the Constitution?"

Justice Hemant Gupta

• "The object of the Government Order was to ensure that there is parity amongst the students in terms of uniform. It was only to promote uniformity and encourage a secular environment in the schools"
• “The practices of each of the faith have to be examined on the basis of the tenets of that religion alone. The essential religious practices of the followers of Sikh faith cannot be made basis of wearing of #hijab /headscarf by the believers of Islamic faith.”
• "Secularism is applicable to all citizens, therefore, permitting one religious community to wear their religious symbols would be antithesis to secularism.”
• “The State has not denied admission to the students from attending classes. If they choose not to attend classes due to the uniform that has been prescribed, it is a voluntary act of such students. It would thus not amount to denial of the right to education if a student, by choice, does not attend the school. A student, thus, cannot claim the right to wear a headscarf to a secular school as a matter of right.”
• “The uniform is an equalizer of inequalities. Therefore, prescribing uniform for children at an impressionable age is not only important but has a salutary effect on the mental development of the child to grow in the environment of oneness.”