The Karnataka High Court dismissed a batch of petitions Tuesday challenging the proscription of hijabs (Islamic headscarves) in the uniform for pre-university colleges in the Udupi district of Karnataka. The court held that wearing a hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam and is not a protected religious right under the Constitution of India.

The controversy erupted in early January when a group of female Muslim students wearing the hijab were denied entry by colleges for failing to adhere to the uniform dress code. The state government issued an order last month validating the decision of educational institutions to prohibit female students wearing a hijab from entering college premises. As protests spread across the state, the Karnataka High Court issued an interim order temporarily restraining all students in the state, “regardless of their religion or faith,” from wearing Bhagwa (saffron shawls), scarfs, hijab, religious flags or the like in classrooms until it issues a judgment on merits.

In Tuesday’s decision, the court outlined three issues for consideration: whether wearing hijab is an essential religious practice in the Islamic faith protected under Article 25 of the Constitution; whether prescription of school uniform is violative of the right to religion; and whether the government’s February order violates the right to equality under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution?

The court referred to various sūras of the Quran and observed that there is no reference to a screen or hijab for women in the Quran; rather “only a veil to cover the bosom, and modesty in dress” has been mentioned. It further observed that wearing the hijab is only recommendatory and no penalty or penance has been prescribed for not wearing it:

There is absolutely no material placed on record to prima facie show that wearing of hijab is a part of an essential religious practice in Islam and that the petitioners have been wearing the hijab from the beginning.

Based on these observations, the court held that wearing a hijab is not an inviolable religious practice in Islam and prescribing a school uniform is a reasonable restriction to the fundamental right to religion. Since the government has the power to issue orders mandating uniform dress codes in public institutions, the court also dismissed the third ground of challenge.

The petitioners have moved to challenge the court’s decision before the Supreme Court arguing that the state’s laws neither mandate a uniform for students nor prescribe punishment for students failing to adhere to a particular uniform.