Hijab Row: Karnataka HC’s decision to uphold the Hijab ban is deeply disappointing, says PDP Leader Mufti

PDP Leader Mehbooba Mufti on High Court's decision over Hijab Row expressed her disappointment, "Karnataka HC’s decision to uphold the Hijab ban is deeply disappointing. On one hand, we talk about empowering women yet we are denying them the right to a simple choice. Its isn’t just about religion but the freedom to choose" she said. 

Karnataka HC’s decision to uphold the Hijab ban is deeply disappointing. On one hand we talk about empowering women yet we are denying them the right to a simple choice. Its isn’t just about religion but the freedom to choose.

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 15, 2022

Meanwhile, Karnataka attorney general Prabuling Navadki said "Institutional discipline prevails over individual choice. The judgment marks a paradigm shift in the interpretation of Article 25 of the constitution. The ruling restates the position of law as held by SC in Sabarimala (case) by saying that what is essentially religious is not sufficient but what is required to be shown is essential to religion."

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions and said that wearing Hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam.

A bench of Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi said that no case is made out for invalidating the Government Order of February 5.