The Supreme Court issues a divided decision on the HC judgement and refers the case to the CJI

Karnataka hijab ban: Due to the split ruling, the bench recommended that the appeals against the high court verdict be sent to the Chief Justice of India for the formation of an appropriate bigger bench.

The Supreme Court issued a divided decision on a bundle of petitions contesting a Karnataka High Court decision refusing to overturn the prohibition on hijab in state educational institutions. While Justice Hemant Gupta dismissed the high court appeals, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia permitted them. "There is a difference of view," Justice Gupta stated at the opening of the ruling.

Given the split ruling, the bench recommended that the appeals against the high court verdict be sent to the Chief Justice of India for the formation of an appropriate bigger bench.

While delivering the decision, Justice Dhulia stated that the high court went down the wrong route and that wearing a hijab is ultimately "a matter of choice, nothing more, nothing less." He stated that the fundamental point of his opinion is the idea of necessary religious activity, which was not relevant to the issue.

Justice Dhulia remarked, "Are we making her life any better?" after stating that his concentration was on girl child education, particularly in rural regions. While allowing the appeals against the high court judgement, Justice Dhulia stated that he had annulled the state government's February 5, 2022 decree that prohibited students from wearing clothing that disrupted equity, integrity, and public order in schools and colleges.

On March 15, the high court dismissed petitions made by a group of Muslim girls at the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, Karnataka, seeking permission to wear the hijab in class, stating that it is not an important religious practise in the Islamic religion.

On March 15, the high court dismissed petitions made by a group of Muslim girls at the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, Karnataka, requesting permission to wear the hijab in class, stating that it is not an important religious practise in Islam.

Several attorneys for the petitioners said before the Supreme Court that prohibiting Muslim girls from wearing the hijab to school would jeopardise their education because they would stop attending lessons.

Counsel for the petitioners argued on a variety of issues, including the state government's February 5, 2022 decree prohibiting students and faculty from wearing clothing that violates equality, integrity, and public order in schools and universities.

Some attorneys have requested that the case be heard by a five-judge constitution bench. On the other side, the state's counsel stated that the Karnataka government decree that sparked the hijab controversy was "religion-neutral."

The state's lawyer had contended in the supreme court that the movement in favour of wearing hijab at educational institutions was not a "spontaneous conduct" by a few individuals, and that the government would have been "guilty of dereliction of constitutional duty" if it had not behaved the way it did.