On Karnataka Hijab Ban, Split Verdict By Supreme Court: 10 Points

Supreme Court gave a split verdict in the Karnataka hijab ban

New Delhi: Petitions challenging the Karnataka hijab ban led to a split verdict in the Supreme Court today. Justice Hemant Gupta dismissed the petitions against the hijab ban, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed them.

Here's your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:

"It's ultimately a matter of choice and nothing else. One thing which was topmost for me was education of the girl child," said Justice Dhulia.
"There is divergence of opinion," said Justice Gupta, who framed and answered 11 questions in his judgment for dismissing the plea. He said he agrees with the Karnataka High Court's order.
The Karnataka High Court had refused to lift the ban on hijab - headscarves worn by some Muslim women - in schools and colleges. Today, a Karnataka minister said the hijab ban stays valid despite the split verdict.
Some of the questions and answers that Justice Gupta cited before dismissing the pleas, according to the legal news website Bar and Bench, include whether the government order has infringed upon the fundamental right of students and whether wearing the hijab is an essential religious practice under Islam. "The answer, according to me, is against the appellant. I dismiss the appeal," Justice Gupta said.
The Supreme Court division bench then said the matter will be placed before the Chief Justice of India for hearing by a three-judge bench.
The BJP-ruled state government banned students from wearing hijab on campus on February 5. "We welcome the judgment of the Supreme Court. But I had expected an order today. The matter will go to a larger bench. As of now, the Karnataka government's no-hijab rule on campus stays valid," state Education Minister BC Nagesh said.
It was challenged by Muslim girl students in the Karnataka High Court. On March 15, the high court dismissed petitions filed by some Muslim students of Government Pre-University Girls College in Karnataka's Udupi.
The high court ruled that the students' request to wear the hijab inside classrooms was not a part of the essential religious practice in Islamic faith.
The split verdict in the Supreme Court today came after the bench of Justices Gupta and Dhulia reserved its judgement on the pleas on September 22. The bench had heard arguments for 10 days before it reserved its verdict.
Lawyers appearing for the petitioners had insisted that preventing the Muslim girls from wearing the hijab to the classroom will jeopardise their education as they might stop attending classes. The lawyers appearing for the state had argued that the Karnataka government order that sparked the controversy was "religion neutral".