By Express News Service
BENGALURU: The Karnataka government will submit its arguments before the Karnataka High Court with regard to the hijab issue on Friday, as the arguments of the counsels of a batch of petitions questioning the ban of hijab in colleges concluded on Thursday.
When the arguments of the counsels of the petitioners-students concluded before the full bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi, the Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadagi submitted that he will argue on Friday.
During the hearing, Dr Vinod G Kulkarni, a consulting neuropsychiatrist from Hubballi, argued on his own with regard to filing public interest litigation filed by him, that the hijab issue has created mass hysteria and disturbed minds of all, particularly Muslim students. Therefore, Muslim girl students be permitted to wear hijab on Fridays and ensuing Ramzan, to guard the mental health, he pleaded.
Before this, the court dismissed a petition filed by Arif Jameel, a social activist from the city against the hijab ban on the ground that it is not maintainable, as the rules made for filing public interest litigations are not followed.
Meanwhile, the court also permitted the counsel to withdraw the petition filed by five students from private educational institutions in city on the ground that the impugned government order likely to be affected, as cause of action was not mentioned, with liberty to file a fresh plea with full details.
The court made it clear that it will allow the intervenors for arguing on the issue, if their assistance is necessary, after the arguments of the counsels of the petitioners as well as state government is concluded.
