Lagatar24 Desk
Bengaluru, Feb 15: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday resumed hearings in the hijab case, adjourning the proceedings till Wednesday. On February 16, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi will hear the case at 2:30 p.m.
During today’s hearing, senior advocate Dev Datt Kamat, who was representing the petitioners, pointed to a South African court’s decision on whether a Hindu girl with South Indian heritage might wear a nose ring in school.
“This case is not about uniforms, but exemptions to existing uniforms,” the lawyer argued.
“Our Constitution follows positive secularism, not like Turkish secularism, that is negative secularism. Our secularism ensures that everyone’s religious rights are preserved,” he further argued.”
Notably, in an interim decision issued on Thursday, a high court bench comprised of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi barred students from wearing hijab or any religious garb until the matter was resolved.
Despite tensions over the hijab debate, the Karnataka high court hearing comes as pre-university and degree colleges across the state reopen.