Hijab Case : CJI DY Chandrachud To Take A Call On Urgent Listing To Consider Muslim Students' Plea To Attend Exams In Govt Colleges

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Wednesday said that he will take a call on listing the Hijab case from Karnataka to consider the plea made by the Muslim girls seeking interim relief to allow them to attend exams in the government colleges.

Advocate Shadan Farast mentioned the matter before the CJI seeking urgent listing, saying that the exams are scheduled to commence from March 9.

"Why are they prevented from taking the examination?", CJI asked.

"Because they are wearing headscarfs", Farasat replied.

"I will take a call on this", CJI replied.

On January 23, the CJI had agreed to consider the request for urgent listing, after Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora mentioned the urgency of examinations, which are held in government colleges. 

After the Karnataka government banned the wearing of hijab in Government Pre-University Colleges, several Muslim students had to move to private colleges. However, the exams are conducted in government colleges. In this backdrop, the petitioners seek permission to attend exams.

"They have already lost one year. They don't want to lose one more year. The prayer is only to let them take part in the exam. I am not seeking any other directions", Farasat submitted today.

In March 2022, Karnataka High Court had upheld the ban imposed by the State Government on Muslim girls wearing religious headscarf in government colleges. In October 2022, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had delivered a split verdict in the appeals, with Justice Hemant Gupta upholding the hijab ban and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia ruling against it.