Three-judge bench of Karnataka HC to hear hijab petition today

Hijab row: Protests intensified in Karnataka over the ban on the use of hijab in classrooms.

All eyes are set on the three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court, which will hear on Thursday afternoon the petitions questioning the ban on wearing of 'hijabs' (headscarves) by students in colleges.

Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Ritu Raj Awasthi on Wednesday had constituted a full bench comprising himself, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice Jaibunnisa M Khazi in view of the urgency to hear the matter.

Earlier on Wednesday, Justice Dixit, who was hearing the case, referred the matter to Justice Awasthi's consideration with a view that a larger bench may look into the case. Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh on Thursday expressed his satisfaction over the formation of a full bench to hear the case.

"The satisfying thing is that a full bench has been constituted immediately, which will start hearing from today. We expect a good judgement, which will put an end to this problem," the minister told reporters.

Nagesh added that he along with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan have been regularly holding meetings ever since the hijab row erupted.

The hijab row started in December end last year when a few students started coming to the government pre-university college in Udupi wearing hijab. To protest against it, some Hindu students started coming to the college wearing saffron scarves.

The row spread to other educational institutions in different parts of the state, and the protests took a violent turn at some places. The state government had on Tuesday ordered closure of all high schools and colleges in Karnataka for three days due to rising tensions over the issue.

(With PTI inputs)