Karnataka, 10/2: A three-judge full bench of the Karnataka High Court will hear the petitions over the hijab controversy. The full bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi will hear a batch of petitions at 2.30 pm on Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the single bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit had requested the Chief Justice to refer all the petitions to a larger bench. The hearing in this batch of petitions, challenging both the restrictions on wearing the hijab as well as the government order of mandating the uniform, commenced at 2.30 pm. As soon as the bench assembled, Justice Dixit said that he felt the matter required consideration by a larger bench. Justice Dixit also observed that generally in cases involving personal laws, larger benches are constituted.
At this stage, senior advocates appearing for the students requested the court to grant interim relief as the students have been kept away from classrooms. Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, who is an alumnus of MGM College in Udupi, said the children he represents have a current problem which requires immediate attention since there are only two months left in the academic year. Another senior advocate Devadatta Kamath requested the court to permit students to attend classes.