Karnataka High Court upholds hijab ban, claims headscarf not an essential religious practice

News Network
March 15, 2022

Bengaluru, Mar 15: In a major blow to Muslims in Karnataka, the High Court has upheld the ban on hijab imposed by the BJP government in educational institutions.

Even though holy Quran has ruled that covering head is mandatory for all Muslim women, the High Court went on to claim that wearing of Hijab does not form part of essential religious practice of Islamic faith.

Pronouncing its judgment in a batch of petitions over hijab controversy, a three-judge full bench of the court also held that prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to. 

Insofar as the challenge to the Government Order dated February 5, 2022, the court said that the state government has power to issue order and no case is made out for its invalidation.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi said that it had formulated a few questions and answered them.

The four questions that were formulated were:
1)    whether wearing hijab is a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith protected under Article 25 of the Constitution,
2)     whether prescription of school uniform is not legally permissible as being violative of Article 19 (1) (a) and Article 21 of the constitution, 
3)    whether the Government Order dated February 5, 2022 apart from being incompetent is issued without application of mind arbitrary and hence violates Article 14 and 15 of the constitution,
4)     and finally whether disciplinary action should be taken against the school staff at Udupi Girls PU College.

“We are of the considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith. The answer to second question is, we are of the considered opinion that the prescription of school uniform is only reasonable restriction constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to. The answer to third question is, in view of above we are of the considered opinion that the government has power to issue the impugned government order dated 5-02-2022 and no case is made out for its invalidation. The answer to fourth question is, we are of the considered opinion that no case is made out in WP 2146/2022 for issuance of a direction for initiating disciplinary enquiry against respondents is rejected being not maintainable,” the bench said.

The bench further said, “Accordingly in the above circumstances, all these writ petitions being devoid of merits are liable to be and liable to be dismissed.” 

After the verdict, CM Basavaraj Bommai urged students to adhere to the Karnataka High Court order. "I request students to give priority to their studies. Come to school, study and attend exams," he said. 

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News Network
September 10,2024

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The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has strongly denounced an Israeli attack on displaced people sheltering in tents in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the south of Gaza Strip as “a brutal act of genocide.”

“The occupying regime’s appalling massacre against displaced people in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis is a brutal act of genocide... This vicious targeting of unarmed civilians — women, children, and the elderly — in an area previously declared safe by the occupation army is proof of the ongoing Nazi policies that the Zionist entity is pursuing in its genocidal war against Palestinians,” the Gaza-based group said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

It added that such mass killings are being deliberately carried out in complete disregard of the international law, humanitarian law, and UN resolutions calling for an end to the aggression, noting the massacres are being perpetrated with the full support of the US administration, which is complicit in Israeli brutalities against Palestinians.

It also dismissed Israeli army’s allegations concerning the presence of resistance fighters in the targeted area as "downright lies meant to justify such ugly crimes."

"The resistance front has repeatedly confirmed the absence of ... its members among civilian communities or the use of residential areas for military purposes,” the statement pointed out.

Hamas also called upon the international community, the United Nations, and all political, humanitarian and judicial institutions to break their silence, assume their responsibility and work to stop the 11-month-long holocaust.

The resistance movement stated that world bodies need to take necessary steps in order to bring Israeli war criminals before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and hold them to account for their horrendous crimes.

According to Palestinian media outlets, at least 40 people were killed and 60 others injured in the Israeli attack on people sheltering in tents in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis.

The strikes involved heavy missiles and left craters up to 9 meters (30 feet) deep in an area where people were living in at least 20 tents.

Ambulance and Civil Defense teams are facing considerable difficulty retrieving the bodies of the victims.

Initial assessments suggest the attack is “one of the most heinous massacres in the ongoing frenzied war”.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes in the area, with fires burning and Israeli reconnaissance planes flying overhead.

Israel launched its atrocious onslaught against the Gaza Strip, targeting hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm, against the usurping regime on October 7 last year.

At least 41,020 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children. Another 94,925 individuals have sustained injuries as well.

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News Network
September 16,2024

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The Israeli regime is recruiting African asylum seekers to kill Palestinians in the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in exchange for permanent residency status, according to a report.

The report, ran by the Israeli paper Haaretz on Sunday, revealed that the project is conducted in an organized manner, with the guidance of military establishment legal advisers.  

In Gaza, the death toll passes 41,200 with close to 100,000 more injured in almost a year since the Israeli regime forces launched their genocidal war. However, the continued violence is prompting some Jewish Israelis to leave the occupied Palestinian land.

To make up for the loss, Tel Aviv is offering the incentive of permanent residency status to asylum seekers who agree to join the Israeli regime forces ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Haaretz has learned that some people have expressed objections to the practice, arguing that it exploits people who have fled their countries due to war. However, according to those sources, these voices have been silenced.

“This is a very problematic matter,” one source was quoted as saying by Haaretz.

According to the report, there are currently some 30,000 African asylum seekers living in the occupied territories, most of them young men. Around 3,500 are Sudanese citizens with temporary status granted by the court because the regime has not processed and ruled on their applications.

Unnamed sources who spoke with Haaretz also revealed that while there were some inquiries about granting status to asylum seekers who assisted in the genocidal war in Gaza, none were actually given status.

Haaretz also learned that the Interior Ministry explored the possibility of drafting the children of asylum seekers, who were educated in schools in the occupied territories, into the Israeli military.

In the past, the regime allowed the children of foreign workers to serve in the military in exchange for granting status to their immediate family members.

African refugees, who came to the occupied territories seeking asylum, were previously kept in internment camps and deported without their own consent.

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News Network
September 17,2024

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Mangaluru: In an act of extraordinary selflessness, a young lecturer and mother, Archana Kamath, tragically passed away just days after donating a portion of her liver to a relative. She was 33.

Archana, who had devoted her career to shaping young minds as a lecturer at Canara College and most recently at Manel Srinivasa Nayak MBA College, was a loving mother to a four-year-old boy. Her sudden passing has left her family, students, and colleagues reeling in shock and grief.

The story of her untimely demise began when a relative of her husband, CA Chethan Kumar, required a life-saving liver transplant. 

With no other matching donors in sight, Archana stepped forward, her heart full of compassion. Her blood type matched, and without hesitation, she made the brave decision to donate a part of her liver—an act that would ultimately cost her life.

The surgery, performed 12 days ago in Bengaluru, seemed successful. Archana appeared to recover well and was discharged, bringing hope and relief to her loved ones. 

But just days after returning home, she suddenly fell ill and passed away on September 15 in a Mangaluru hospital. The cause of her sudden decline remains a mystery, compounding the sorrow of those who knew and loved her.

Her final act of love saved a life—the relative who received her liver is said to be recovering well. But Archana’s loss is felt deeply by her husband and their young son, who are now left to navigate a world without her warmth and strength.

As family and friends grapple with this tragic turn of events, Archana’s memory will live on in the hearts of those who knew her as a caring educator, devoted mother, and a woman whose ultimate sacrifice was made out of love.

The full story of her passing is still unfolding, and her untimely death has left an irreplaceable void in the lives of all who knew her.
 

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