In Brief
The Supreme Court was divided on whether Muslim girls in Karnataka have the right to wear hijab in school classrooms. Two students challenged a state government order mandating school uniforms that implicitly banned hijab. Justice Hemant Gupta upheld the ban, holding that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice under Article 25 and that uniform dress codes are reasonable restrictions on religious freedom. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia dissented, finding that hijab wearing is protected as a matter of individual conscience, expression, and privacy under Articles 19 and 21, and that schools in a pluralistic democracy must reasonably accommodate sincere religious beliefs. The Court was unable to reach a majority opinion and referred the matter to the Chief Justice for constitution of an appropriate larger bench.
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