'Why should girls be denied rights for wearing hijab?', petitioners ask Supreme Court

The counsel for the petitioners said the students' rights of freedom of conscience, privacy, dignity and to have access to education have been denied

The Supreme Court was on Monday told that the school girls have not committed a crime by putting a hijab on their head yet they are being denied their rights including the right to education.

"What is the crime these little girls are committing? Putting a piece of cloth on their head, because of this, all rights are denied to them. One who puts hijab must not be looked like a caricature but with dignity," senior advocate Yusuf Muchhala submitted before a bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia, on behalf of the petitioners.

The court was hearing arguments on the fourth day against the Karnataka High Court's judgement of March 15 upholding ban on hijab in Pre University Colleges.

Maintaining that previous students had till recent years continued to wear hijab without any hindrance, he contended the High Court should not have gone into issue whether hijab was an essential religious practice by interpreting the Quran.

The bench, however, said the High Court did not have the option as the petitioners themselves claimed it to be an essential religious practice.

Read | Not fair to compare Sikh turban with hijab, says SC

The counsel, for his part, said the High Court should have kept its hands off as it did not have expertise on the field.

Citing the right to privacy judgement in K S Puttaswamy case, he said the students' rights of freedom of conscience, privacy, dignity and to have access to education have been denied. He also submitted choice of dress and apparel are also part of the right to privacy.

"We have to see from view of need for awareness of sensitivity. Cultural and religious diversity can be accommodated. If turban can be allowed, why should I be put under discrimination...it won't lead to disharmony," he said.

"Whether hijab is a fundamental right or not is applicable here. The question here is not about religious denomination but an individual's fundamental right," the counsel added.

Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, also arguing for petitioners, including a Sikh woman, said it is a matter of religion, culture, conscience, culture, and dignity.

He also said there is no binary like obligatory and non-obligatory in Islam. "What is in Quran is obligatory and what the prophet interpreted it is also obligatory. This is a critical thing to keep in mind," he said.

Distinguishing burqa, hijab and jilbab through pictures, he said cultural identity is important, while subscribing to the dress code.

"Hijab is a screen as per the Quran and it is religion or culture. 'Ghoonghat' is considered very essential in UP or North India. When you go to the Gurudwara people always cover their head. This is culture. In mosques, some countries people don't cover their head, but in India everybody wears a head cover. This is culture," he said.

The court put the matter for further hearing on September 14.