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2022 Supreme(SC) 1043

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
HEMANT GUPTA, SUDHANSHU DHULIA, JJ.
Aishat Shifa - Appellants
VERSUS
The State of Karnataka & Ors. - Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 7095 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 5236 Of 2022) Writ Petition (C) No.120 Of 2022 Civil Appeal No.7075 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15405 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 6957 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 9217 Of 2022) Civil Appeal Nos.7078-7083 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) Nos.15407-15412 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7077 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15419 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7074 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No.15403 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No.7076 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No.15418 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7072 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 11396 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 6934 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 7794 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7084 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15402 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7085 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15416 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7092 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15404 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7088 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15414 Of 2022) Writ Petition (C) No.95 Of 2022 Civil Appeal No.7087 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15413 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No.7090 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15401 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7096 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 5690 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7091 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15399 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No.7089 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15417 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7086 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No. 15400 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7069 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No.17648 Of 2022) (Diary No.21273 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7098 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No.17656 Of 2022) (Diary No.9117 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7093 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No.17653 Of 2022) (Diary No.25867 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7099 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No.17663 Of 2022) (Diary No.11577 Of 2022) Civil Appeal No. 7070 Of 2022 (Arising Out Of S.L.P. (C) No.17647 Of 2022) (Diary No.21272 Of 2022)
Decided On : 13-10-2022

Advocates:
Advocate appeared:
For the parties Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. K.M. Natraj, ASG Mr. Prabhuling Navadgi, Adv. General Mr. Gaurav Bhatia, Sr. Adv. Mr. Nikhil Goel, AAG Mr. Prasanna Deshpande, AAG Mr. Aruna Shyam, AAG Mr. YH Vijay Kumar, AAG Mr. Shubhranshu Padhi, AOR Mr. Kanu Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Aneesh Shahade, Adv. Mr. Vishal Banshal, Adv. Ms. Rajeshwari Shankar, Adv. Mr. Niroop Sukirthy, Adv. Mohd. Ovais, Adv. Mr. Sushal Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Adithya Koshi Roy, Adv. Mr. Chitransh Sharma, Adv. Mr. Nakul Chengappa KK, Adv. Mr. Aditya Vaibhav Singh, Adv. Mr. Abhikalp Pratap Singh, Adv. Mr. Aneesh Shahade, Adv. Mr. Kartik Kaushal, Adv. Mr. Siddharta Dave, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, Adv. Mr. Vinayaka S. Pandit, Adv. Mr. Sudhanshu Prakash, Adv. Mr. H. Vinayaka S. Pandit, Adv. Mr. Rajan Parmar, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Sabharwal, Adv. Ms. Vidhi T., Adv. Mr. Mehmood Umar Faruqui, Adv. Ms. Koshy John, Adv. Ms. Asifa Rashid Mir, Adv. Mr. Shereef K.A., Adv. Mr. Mohd. Tahir, Adv. Mr. Muhammed Azaruddin, Adv. Mr. Sanjay R. Hegde, Sr. Adv. Mr. Anas Tanwir, Adv. Ms. Masoom Raj Singh, Adv. Ms. Ritika Singh, Adv. Mr. Abdul Qadir, Adv. Mr. Raghav Gupta, Adv. Mr. Shahrukh Ali, Adv. Mr. Farhan, Adv. Mr. Salman Khurshid, Sr. Adv. Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, Adv. Mr. M. Z. Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Ali Safeer Farooqi, Adv. Mr. Syed Imtiaz Ali, Adv. Mr. Shahbaz, Adv. Mr. Mujeeb Rehman, Adv. Mr. Mumtaz Alam Siddiqui, Adv. Ms. Tehsheena Z. Hussain, Adv. Ms. Lubna Naaz, Adv. Dr. Lokendra Malik, Adv. Mr. Rahat Ali Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Nitin Kashyap, Adv. Mr. Ramesh Sachdeva, Adv. Ms. Mariya Mansuri, Adv. Ms. Azra Rehman, Adv. Mr. Anshu Kapoor, Adv. Ms. Asifa Rashid Mir, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Kanva, Adv. Mr. Bilal A. Khan, Adv. Ms. Mitali Chauhan, Adv. Ms. Mariya Mansuri, Adv. Mr. Danish Zubair Khan, Adv. Mr. Mareesh Pravir Sahay, Adv. Mr. Chandra Sekhar Padhi, Adv. Mr. Roopesh Singh Bhadauria, Adv. Mr. Arpit Singh, Adv. Mr. Umesh Pratap Singh, Adv. Mr. Gaurav Jain, Adv. Ms. Eccha Shukla, Adv. Ms. Awanitika, Adv. Mr. Sachin Kharb, Adv. Mr. Shahab Ahmad, Adv. Ms. Tanya Sharma, Adv. Mr. M. P. Sahay, Adv. Ms. Saba Khan, Adv. Mr. Siddhartha Dave, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, Adv. Mr. Sudhanshu Prakash, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Sabharwal, Adv. Mr. Vinayaka S. Pandit, Adv. Mr. Rajan Parmar, Adv. Ms. Vidhi Thaker, Adv. Mr. Salman Khurshid, Sr. Adv. Ms. Farheen Fatima, Adv. Mr. Salman Kharshid, Sr. Adv. Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, AOR Mr. Mumtaz Alam Siddiqui, Adv. Ms. Jayna Kothari, Sr. Adv. Dr. Anindita Pujari, Adv. Mr. Azad Bansaria, Adv. Mr. Prannv Dhavan, Adv. Ms. Saaneya Hidayath, Adv. Ms. Prakriti Rastogi, Adv. Mr. Dushyant Dave, Sr. Adv. Mr. M.R. Shamshad, AOR Mr. Arijit Sarkar, Adv. Mr. Shashank Singh, Adv. Ms. Nabeela Jamil, Adv. Ms. Niaz A. Faruqui, Adv. Ms. Neha Sangwan, Adv. Ms. Ashi Shereen Ahmad, Adv. Mr. Devadatt Kamat, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shadul Hameed Reheman, Adv. Mr. Nishanth Patil, AOR Mr. Rajesh Inamdar, Adv. Mr. Harsh Pandey, Adv. Mr. Sabyasachi Banerjee, Adv. Mr. Guru Krishna Kumar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shoumendu Mukherji, AOR Mr. Praneet Pranav, Adv. Mr. Merusagar Samantray, Adv. Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, Adv. Mr. Bhakti Vardhan Singh, Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma, Adv. Mr. Arindam, Adv. Ms. Megha Sharma, Adv. Mr. Shoeb Alam, Adv. Ms. Fauzia Shakil, Adv. Mr. Ujjwal Singh, Adv. Mr. Agastya Sen, Adv. Mr. Devadatt Kamat, Sr. Adv. Mr. Javedur Rahman, Adv. Mr. Rajesh Inamdar, Adv. Mr. Nizam Pasha, Adv. Mr. Shahul Hameed, Adv. Mr. Yojit Singh, Adv. Mohd. Niyas S., Adv. Mr. Harsh Pandey, Adv. Mr. Revanta Solanki, Adv. Mr. Nishant Patil, Adv. Mr. Mudassir, Adv. Mr. Aditya Samaddar, Adv. Mohd. Niyas, Adv. Mr. Shoeb Khan, Adv. Mr. Pran Krishna Jana, Sr. Adv. Mr. Kaleeswaram Raj, Adv. Mr. Nishe Rajen Shonker, Adv. Ms. Thulasi K. Raj, Adv. Ms. Anu K. Joy, Adv. Mr. Alim Anvar, Adv. Mr. Pran Krisana Jana, Adv. Ms. Nazish Fatima, Adv. Mr. Arvind Gupta, Adv. Mr. Yusuf Hatim Muchhala, Sr. Adv. Md. Tahir M. Hakim, Adv. Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR Mr. Sagheer A. Khan, Adv. Ms. Rashda S. Ainapore, Adv. Mohamed Nawaz Haindaday, Adv. Ms. Akriti Chaubey, Adv. Mr. Saif Zia, Adv. Mr. R Venkatramani, Sr. Adv. Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, Adv. Mr. VVV Pattabhiram, Adv. Mr. Santosh Kumar, Adv. Ms. Ankita Choudhary, Adv. Mr. Rahul Tanwani, Adv. Mr. Chitwan Singhal, Adv. Mr. Sushal Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Baij Nath Patel, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Hegde, Sr. Adv. Mr. Rahamathulla Kothwal, Adv. Ms. Siddika Aisha, Adv. Mr. Kumail Abbas, Adv. Mohd Shahrukh Ali, Adv. Mr. Raghav Gupta, Adv. Mr. Pallabh, Adv. Mr. Nikhil, Adv. Mr. Adeel Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Sachin Pahwa, Adv. Mr. Huzefa Ahmadi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Zulfiker Ali P. S, AOR Mr. Thoyyib Hudawai, Adv. Ms. Lakshmi Sree, Adv. Dr. Aditya Sondhi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR, Mr. Harsh Vardhan Kediya, Adv. Mohd. Shaz Khan, Adv. Ms. Disha Wadekar, Adv. Mr. Bilal A. Khan, Adv. Mohd. Afeef, Adv. Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Rishabh Devan Parikh, Adv. Ms. Rupali Samuel, Adv. Ms. Aparajita Jamwal, Adv. Mr. Koshy John, Adv. Mr. Dileep Poolakkot, Adv. Mr. Muhammed Siddick, Adv. Mr. Aljo K. Josesh, Adv. Mr. Dushyant Dave, Sr. Adv. Mr. Haris Beeran, Adv. Mr. Mushtaq Salim, Adv. Mr. Azhar Assees, Adv. Mr. Usman Ghani Khan, Adv. Ms. Pallavi Pratap, AOR Mr. Ameen Hassan K., Adv. Mr. A. M. Dar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Danissh M. Dar, Adv. Mr. B. Shafi, Adv. (Appearance slip not legible) Dr. Charu Mathur, AOR Ms. Tanvi Dubey, Adv. Mr. Rahul Unnikrishnan, Adv. Mr. Anukrit Gupta, Adv. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Dubey, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Dave, Sr. Adv. Mr. Mahesh Thakur, AOR Mr. Siddharth Thakur, Adv. Ms. Vipasha Singh, Adv. Mr. Ajay Kanojiya, Adv. Ms. Shivani, Adv. Ms. Neha Singh, Adv. Ms. Shailja Das, Adv. Md. Irshad Hanif, Adv. Mr. Javed R. Shaikh, Adv. Mr. Aarif Ali, Adv. Mr. Rizwan Ahmad, Adv. Mohd. Aslam, Adv. Mr. Mujahid Ahmad, Adv. Ms. Rubina Jawed, Adv. Mr. Tausif Ahmed Dar, Adv. Mr. Ahmed Parvez, Adv. Mr. Amar Kumar Raizada, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Tiwari, Adv. Mohd. Faseeh Khan, Adv. Mr. Amir Kaleem, Adv. Mr. Mohit Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shishir Raj, Adv. Mohd. Wasiq Khan, Adv. Mr. Sahid uddin Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Pulkit Srivastava, AOR Mr. Subodh Patil, Adv. Mr. Aayush Anand, Adv. Mr. Pravartak Pathak, Adv. Mr. Gautam Singh, Adv. Ms. Kriti Ranjan, Adv. Mr. Bharat Singh, Adv. Mr. Joyadeep Roy, Adv. Mr. Pulkit Srivastava, AOR Mr. Subodh Patil, Adv. Mr. Aayush Anand, Adv. Mr. Gautam Singh, Adv. Ms. Kriti Ranjal, Adv. Mr. Pravar Pathak, Adv. Mr. Barun Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mrs. Pratibha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Mudit Kaul, Adv. Ms. Bebi Devi Boniya Ms. Sudha Pal, Adv. Mr. Abhishek, AOR Mr. Barun Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mrs. Pratibha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Mudit Kaul, Adv. Ms. Bebi Devi Boniya Mr. Abhishek, AOR Mr. Siddharth Sinha, Adv. Mr. Ayush Anand, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Singh, Adv. Mr. Prashant Rawat, Adv. Mr. Tathagat Sharma, Adv. Mr. Ved Prakash, Adv. Ms. Priya Mishra, Adv. Mr. Shivam Singhania, Adv. Ms. Fauzia Shakil, AOR Ms. Shivam, Adv. Mr. Archit Krishna, Adv. Mr. Shivam, Adv. Ms. Sonal Chopra, Adv. Mr. Rishab Ahmad Chowdhury, Adv. Ms. Muskan Nagpal, Adv. Ms. Kirti Singh, Adv. Mr. Archit Sharma, Adv. Mr. Aditya Chatterjee, Adv. Ms. Sonal Chopra, Adv. Ms. Fauzia Shakil, AOR Mr. Archit Krishna, Adv. Mr. Shivam, Adv. Ms. Sonal Chopra, Adv. Ms. V. Mohana, Sr. Adv. Mr. Raghu Vamsy Dasika, Adv. Mr. Anis Gupta, Adv. Mr. Rashmi Singhania, Adv. Mr. Puspinder Singh, Adv. Mr. Karthik Sundar, Adv. Mr. Charudatta Mahindrakar, AOR Mr. Mandeep Singh, Adv. Mr. Siddhartha Dave, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, Adv. Mr. Vikram Hegde, AOR Mr. Abhinav Hansaraman, Adv. Mr. Chitwan Sharma, Adv. Mr. Nakul Mohta, ADV Ms. Misha Rohatgi Mohta, AOR, Mr. Bharat Monga, Adv. Ms. Richa, Adv. Mr. Prakash Shetty, Adv. Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shadan Farasat, Adv. Mr. Chandratanay Chaube, Adv. Mr. Bharat Gupta, Adv. Mr. Tushar Arora, Adv. Mr. Shourya Dasgupta, Adv. Mr. Aman Naqvi, Adv. Ms. Hrishika Jain, Adv. Mr. Dhruv Bhatnagar, Adv. Mr. Nitesh, Adv. Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv. Ms. Mugdha, Adv. Mr. Satya Mitra, Adv. Mr. Ankur Mittal, Adv. Mr. Jai Anant Dehadrai, Adv. Mr. Neeleshwar Pavani, Adv. Mr. Sidharth Arora, Adv. Ms. Tejaswini Verma, Adv. Mr. Jaskaran Singh Chawla, Adv. Mr. Udito Koushik Sarmah, Adv. Mr. Smaeer Srivastava, AOR Mr. Prashant Bhushan, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Singh, Adv. Mr. Cheryl D’ Sooja, Adv. Mr. Jaimon Andrews, Adv. Ms. Piyo Harold Jaimon, Adv. Mr. Firdouse C. P., Adv. Mr. Sandeep Thakur, Adv. Mr. Naresh Kumar, Adv. Mr. Abdulla Naseeh V.T., Adv. Mr. Aswathi M.K., AOR Ms. Sneha S. Deshmukh, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Akhileshwar Jha, Adv. Ms. Susmita Kale, Adv. Ms. Deepti S. Rane, Adv. Ms. Kavya Lokande, Adv. Ms. Sanyali S. Pawar, Adv. Mr. Amit K. Singh, Adv. Ms. Misha Rohtagi Mohta, Adv. Mr. Bharat Monga, Adv. Ms. Richa, Adv. Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, AOR Mr. Abhishek Singh, Adv. Mr. Prashant Rawat, Adv. Ms. Priya Mishra, Adv. Mr. Shivam Singhania, Adv. Mr. Dama Seshadri Naidu, Sr. Adv. Mr. Rahul G. Tanwani, Adv. Ms. Shivali Chaudhary, Adv. Mr. Siddharth S. Chapalgaonkar, Adv. Mr. Hitesh Singh, Adv. Mr. Poornachandian, Adv. Mr. Ananvay Anandvardhan, Adv. Ms. Sivani Kukumanu, Adv. Mr. Gursimar Singh, Adv. Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, AOR Mr. Sandeep Singh, Adv. Ms. Bharti Tyagi, Adv. Ms. Alapana Sharma, Adv. Mr. Prashant Rawat, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Mahajan, Adv. Mr. Shivam Singhania, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Singh, Adv. Mr. Nrig Chamwibo Zeliang, Adv. Mr. Tathagat Sharma, Adv. Mr. Ayush Anand, Adv. Ms. Priya Mishra, Adv. Mr. Ved Prakash, Adv. Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Singh, Adv. Mr. Prashant Bhushan, AOR Mr. Mehmood Umar Faruqui, AOR Ms. Anindita Pujari, AOR Ms. Mugdha, Adv. Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR Mr. Aljo K. Joseph, AOR Mr. M. R. Shamshad, AOR Mr. Naresh Kumar, AOR Mr. Shadan Farasat, AOR Mr. Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Adv. Mr. Arjun Singh Bhati, Adv. Mr. Kartik Venu, Adv. Mohd. Tahir, Adv. Ms. Urja Pandey, Adv. Mr. Arjun Singh Bhati, AOR Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Ms. Pallavi Pratap, AOR Mr. Adeel Ahmed, AOR Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, AOR Mr. Anas Tanwir, AOR Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR Mr. Nishanth Patil, AOR Mr. Prateek Yadav, Adv. Mr. Ranbir Singh Yadav, AOR Mohd. Shahruk, Adv. Mr. Puran Mal Saini, Adv. Ms. Anzu K. Varkey, Adv. Mr. Pati Raj Yadav, ADv. Mr. Ritesh Patil, Adv. Mr. Yogesh Yadav, Adv. Mr. Mareesh Pravir Sahay, AOR Ms. Aswathi M.k., AOR Mr. Javedur Rahman, AOR Mr. Abhishek, AOR Mr. Aman Varma, AOR Mr. Vikram Hegde, AOR Mr. Shubhranshu Padhi, AOR Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, AOR Mr. Charudatta Vijayrao Mahindrakar, AOR Ms. Misha Rohatgi, AOR Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, AOR Ms. Mrinmoi Chatterjee , AOR Mr. K. V. Muthu Kumar, AOR Mr. Bhaskar Gowtham, Adv. Mr. Sayooj Mohandas, Adv. Mr. Akshay Ravi, Adv. Mr. Govind Kumar, Adv. Mr. Shubhendu Anand, Adv. Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, AOR Mr. Anas Tanwir, AOR Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR Mr. Mareesh Pravir Sahay, AOR Mr. Ranbir Singh Yadav, AOR Mr. Javedur Rahman, AOR Ms. Aswathi M.k., AOR Mr. Prashant Bhushan, AOR Mr. Mehmood Umar Faruqui, AOR Ms. Asifa Rashid Mir, Adv. Mr. Abdul Shukoor Mundambra, Adv. Mr. Shereef K.A., Adv. Mr. Anas Tanwir, AOR Mr. Ranbir Singh Yadav, AOR Mr. Mareesh Pravir Sahay, AOR Mr. Rishad Ahmed Chowdhury, AOR Ms. Muskan Nagpal, Adv. Ms. Aswathi M.k., AOR Mr. Javedur Rahman, AOR Mr. Mehmood Umar Faruqui, AOR Mr. Prashant Bhushan, AOR Ms. Anindita Pujari, AOR Mr. Zulfiker Ali P. S, AOR Mr. Aljo K. Joseph, AOR Mr. Satya Mitra, AOR Mr. Naresh Kumar, AOR Mr. Mohd. Irshad Hanif, AOR Mr. Abhay Anand Jena, AOR Mr. M. R. Shamshad, AOR Mr. Arjun Singh Bhati, AOR Mr. Shadan Farasat, AOR Ms. Pallavi Pratap, AOR Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, AOR Mr. Adeel Ahmed, AOR Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, AOR Mr. Abhishek, AOR Mr. Aman Varma, AOR Mr. Vikram Hegde, AOR Mr. Shubhranshu Padhi, AOR Mr. Nachiketa Joshi, AOR Mr. Charudatta Vijayrao Mahindrakar, AOR Mr. K. V. Muthu Kumar, AOR Ms. Misha Rohatgi, AOR Mr. Shailesh Madiyal, AOR Mr. Shoumendu Mukherji , AOR Mr. Pulkit Srivastava, AOR Mr. Siddhartha Sinha , AOR Mr. Mahesh Thakur, AOR Mr. Arvind Gupta, AOR Mr. Sameer Shrivastava, AOR Ms. Charu Mathur, AOR

IMPORTANT POINT
Hijab restrictions – Right to wear hijab in School – Denial of education - Wearing a hijab should be simply a matter of Choice - It may or may not be a matter of essential religious practice, but it still is, a matter of conscience, belief, and expression – If she wants to wear hijab, even inside her class room, she cannot be stopped.

Headnote:
Headlines :
(A) Constitution of India – Arts. 19(1)(a), 21 and 25(1) – Hijab restrictions – Right to wear hijab in School – Denial of education – Wearing a hijab should be simply a matter of Choice – By asking the girls to take off their hijab before they enter the school gates, is first an invasion on their privacy, then it is an attack on their dignity, and then ultimately it is a denial to them of secular education, clearly violative of Arts. 19(1)(a), 21 and 25(1) of Constitution of India. (Para 78 & 80)
(B) Hijab restrictions – Right to wear hijab – Constitutional scheme – Principles of liberty – Wearing a hijab should be simply a matter of Choice – It may or may not be a matter of essential religious practice, but it still is, a matter of conscience, belief, and expression – If she wants to wear hijab, even inside her class room, she cannot be stopped, if it is worn as a matter of her choice, as it may be the only way her conservative family will permit her to go to school, and in those cases, her hijab is her ticket to education. (Para 83)

JUDGMENT :

HEMANT GUPTA, J.

1. The challenge in the present appeals is to an order passed by the Full Bench of the Karnataka High Court on 15.3.2022, dismissing the challenge to the Government Order dated 5.2.2022. Such Government Order directed the Government Schools in Karnataka to abide by the prescribed uniform, and the private schools were directed to mandate a uniform as decided by their Board of Management.

PREFACE

2. Before adverting to the submissions made by the counsels on both sides, it is imperative to give a background of the ethos and principles of secularism adopted in the Constitution of India. Though the term ‘secular’ has a wide amplitude and has been understood differently in different parts of the world, it is important to comprehend the same in context of the Indian Constitution.

3. The word “secular” is now part of the Preamble of the Constitution. What is meant by “Secular” ( iaFkfujis{k in the Hindi version of the Constitution) needs to be discussed first. The word ‘Secular’ was inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment w.e.f. 3.1.1977. It is commonly understood in contradistinction to the term ‘religious’. The political philosophy of a secular government has been developed in the West in the historical context of the preeminence of the established Church and the exercise of power by it over the society and its institutions. The democratic State thereafter gradually replaced and marginalized the influence of the Church. The idea of secularism may have been borrowed in the Indian Constitution from the West; however, it has adopted its own unique brand based on its particular history and exigencies which are far distinct in many ways from secularism as defined and followed in European countries, the United States of America and Australia. ¹[T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka, (2002) 8 SCC 481 (11 Judges Bench)]

4. The use of word ‘panthnirpeksh’ in the Constitution brings out the difference in the terms "Dharmanirpeksh" and "Panthnirpeksh". ‘Panth’, or sect, symbolizes devotion towards any specific belief, way of worship or form of God, but Dharma symbolizes absolute and eternal values which can never change, like the laws of nature. Dharma is what upholds, sustains and results in the well-being and upliftment of the Praja (citizens) and the society as a whole.

5. This Court in a judgment reported as A.S. Narayana Deekshitulu v. State of A.P. & Ors., (1996) 9 SCC 548 quoted the concept of Dharma explained by Justice M. Rama Jois in his Legal and Constitutional History of India as “it is most difficult to define Dharma. Dharma has been explained to be that which helps the upliftment of living beings. Therefore, that which ensures welfare (of living beings) is surely Dharma. The learned rishis have declared that which sustains is Dharma”. This Court held that “when dharma is used in the context of duties of the individuals and powers of the King (the State), it means constitutional law (Rajadharma). Likewise, when it is said that Dharmarajya is necessary for the peace and prosperity of the people and for establishing an egalitarian society, the word dharma in the context of the word Rajya only means law, and Dharmarajya means rule of law and not rule of religion or a theocratic State”. Any action, big or small, that is free from selfishness, is part of dharma. Thus, having love for all human beings is dharma. This Court held as under:

”156. It is because of the above that if one were to ask “What are the signs and symptoms of dharma?”, the answer is: that which has no room for narrow-mindedness, sectarianism, blind faith, and dogma. The purity of dharma, therefore, cannot be compromised with sectarianism. A sectarian religion is open to a limited group of people whereas dharma embraces all and excludes none. This is the core of our dharma, our psyche.

157. Nothing further is