Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 13: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a split decision in the case challenging the Karnataka government order which gave government colleges in the State the authority to prohibit Muslim female students from wearing the hijab on college campuses.
While Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia overturned the government decision, Chief Justice Hemant Gupta upheld it.
“There is divergence of opinion. I have held against the appellant. I dismiss the appeal,” he said.
However, Justice Dhulia upheld the appeal and overturned the Karnataka government judgement. As a result, a larger bench of the top court will now consider the case.
In view of divergent opinion, let the matter be placed before the CJI for appropriate directions,” the bench directed.
In his ruling, Justice Gupta posed eleven questions. According to him, the headscarf is not an essential religious practise (ERP) in Islam, and the state government’s directive is there to ensure that all children have access to education. As a result, he denied the appeals.
But Justice Dhulia claimed that the High Court took the incorrect tack by entering the ERP field, and that it was unnecessary to do so.
“It was just a question of choice. I have held the ratio in Bijoy Emmanuel squarely covers the case,” Justice Dhulia ruled.
