Hijab row: Indian SC refuses to hear petition challenging interim ban on headscarf

• Karnataka High Court temporarily restricts religious clothes in educational institutes.
• Petition challenging restraining orders filed in Supreme Court of India.
• Apex court refuses to conduct immediate hearing on petition.

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NEW DELHI: In the recent turn of events following the hijab row controversy in the Karnataka state of India, the interim orders of a Karnataka court have been challenged in the Supreme Court of India.

The high court in Karnataka on Thursday restricted religious clothes in the educational institutes until it issues a verdict on the petitions seeking to rule out the hijab ban, recently imposed by some schools.

Today, a petition challenging the restraining orders was filed in the apex court.

The petitioners have maintained in the plea that the high court’s orders are an attempt to deprive female Muslim students of their basic rights, and a violation of Articles 19 and 25 of the Constitution of India.

However, the Indian SC refused to conduct an immediate hearing on the petition.

“The court is observing the proceedings of Karnataka High Court and whatever is happening in Karnataka,” the court remarked, adding that it would hear the matter at an appropriate time.

It warned the lawyers against making the hijab row controversy a national-level affair.

Mob in India bullies Muslim hijabi woman

The controversy had intensified when a video of a woman, Muskan, being heckled by over 100 male students wearing saffron scarves went viral on social media.

The video caused a stir among people in which Muskan, wearing hijab, could be seen getting accosted by a “saffron-scarf clad mob” chanting “Jai Shri Ram” (victory to lord Rama) when she entered her college, according to India Today.

In response, the woman chanted “Allah Hu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest) and turned her back towards the mob.

The incident has garnered a massive response from Pakistan and India, both from Muslims and Hindus alike.