No discrimination on religious grounds, Advocate Gen tells Karnataka HC on Hijab issue

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 23 : Amid the hijab row, Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi appearing for the state told Karnataka High Court on Tuesday that there is no discrimination on the ground of religion.
Advocate General Navadgi countered the arguments of the petitioners that there was discrimination on the basis of religion and said it is not correct.
A bench of the three judges, comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi, was hearing various petitions challenging the ban on hijab in educational institutes in the state on Tuesday.
Advocate General, who cited various judgments to justify his arguments including Sabrimala issues, submitted before the Karnataka High Court that central force of any interpretation is human dignity. Human dignity involves liberty, which involves choice to wear or not to wear.
"The entire claim of the petitioner is to make compulsion, which goes against the fundamentals of Constitutional interpretation," Navadgi said.
He further added that there is no prohibition on hijab but it cannot be made compulsory and should be left to the choice of concerned women.
He also apprised the Court that in the military, the right of growing of beard was declined on the ground that institutional discipline required not to exhibit individual choices.
Advocate General also clarified that as far as private unaided minority institutions are concerned, the State is not interfering with the uniform code and has left it to the institutions to decide.
Navadgi said, "For a large number of petitioners who represent women organisations, I am making a statement that dignity of the women must be kept in mind."
While opposing the plea of petitioners challenging dress code in educational institutions, Advocate General said in the light of law laid down by the Supreme Court in Sabarimala, would it be possible to accept the principle of hijab on the point of Constitution morality and individual dignity?
Advocate General further added that if somebody is coming for a declaration, that we want every woman of a particular faith to wear, would it not violate the dignity of that person, whom we are sitting down and subjugating.
Advocate General said it is a compulsion of an attire which we want to impose on that person, which according to me is impermissible in this day and age.
Advocate General said, "In France, I am told, there is total prohibition of hijab in public life but I do not think anyone can say there is no Islamic religion in that country."
Advocate General also informed the Court while concluding his argument that in the morning when he was coming to the Court, he heard a beautiful song of Sahir Ludhyanwi....."Naa munh chhupake jiyo...."
The Karnataka High Court will continue hearing on Friday various petitions challenging the ban on headscarves in educational institutes.
The hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU college in the Udupi district of the state alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab.
Following this incident, students of different colleges arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles. The situation was the same in several colleges in the Udupi district.
The pre-University education board had released a circular stating that students can wear only the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges.