Karnataka Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi on Monday, 21 February, reiterated that the Karnataka government was not imposing any rules for uniforms/dress codes in educational institutions, including the banning of hijabs, and was instead leaving this to the institutions to decide.
At the same time, on being asked by the bench of the Karnataka High Court for the Basavaraj Bommai government's stance, he reiterated what he had said on Friday, that the wearing of a hijab cannot be considered an essential religious practice in Islam.
The Advocate General also criticised the various petitioners in the ongoing case who had approached the court asking for protection of Muslim students' right to wear hijabs to classrooms, saying they had "placed zero material on record to show that wearing hijab is an essential religious practice."
In addition, Navadgi also cautioned against the nature of the petitions and what they are asking for:
"This is not a case where some followers have come to the court, like the Sabarimala matter. This is a case where it is not petitioners alone who have come to the court. They have asked for a declaration that every woman who follows Islamic faith is required to wear hijab. Look at the seriousness of this, they want a declaration which can bind every Muslim woman."