New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the question in Karnataka Hijab ban matter is only about the restriction in schools as nobody is prohibited from wearing it anywhere else they want.
The apex court was hearing arguments on a batch of pleas challenging Karnataka High Court verdict refusing to lift the ban on hijab in educational institutions of the state.
A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia was told by senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, who appeared for one of the petitioners, that the matter be referred to a five-judge constitution bench.
He argued that if a girl, in the exercise of her rights under Articles 19, 21, or 25 of the Constitution, decides to wear a Hijab, then can the State put a prohibition that will violate her rights.
The bench orally observed "The question is nobody is prohibiting you from wearing Hijab. You can wear it wherever you want. The only restriction is in the school. We are only concerned with that question."
At the outset, Kamat said his endeavour is to persuade the bench to consider reference of this matter under Article 145 (3) of the Constitution.
Article 145 (3) says the minimum number of judges, who are to sit for the purpose of deciding any case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution or for the purpose of hearing any reference under Article 143, shall be five.