Section 144 imposed in Bengaluru ahead of hijab case verdict by Karnataka HC

Section 144 was imposed in Bengaluru city on Monday ahead of Karnataka High Court’s verdict the hijab case expected to be delivered on Tuesday. The prohibitory orders will remain in place for a week, as per media reports.

The order prohibits any gathering, agitation or protest of any type within the area of 200-metre radius from the gates of schools, PU colleges, degree colleges or other similar educational institutions in Vijayapura. Security has also been stepped up outside schools and colleges in the Uttar Kannada district, as per the reports, which quoted sources as saying that over 10,000 policemen are being deployed across Bengaluru.

Additional reserve police force and city armed reserve will also be deployed even as DCPs have been asked to keep a tab on social media, they said.

It may be recalled that last month, the BJP-led Karnataka government had ordered closure of schools for a few days after violence erupted between supporters of the hijab and right-wing outfits across the state over the issue.

Muslim girls from Udupi then moved the Karnataka HC seeking permission to wear hijab inside the classroom along with the school uniform as it was part of their faith. Following this, a bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi was constituted on February 9.

On January 1, six girl students of a college in Udupi had attended a press conference held by the Campus Front of India (CFI) protesting against the college authorities denying them entry into classrooms wearing headscarves. This was four days after they requested the principal permission to wear hijab in classes which was not allowed.

As the issue of Hijab versus saffron scarves spread to several educational institutions in many parts of Karnataka, the state government announced holiday from February 9 to February 15 in all the pre-university colleges and from February 9 to February 16 in degree and diploma colleges.