Crime
Hijab ruling will have effect on constitutional morality, individual dignity, AG to HC
Karnataka Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi on Tuesday told the High Court that the judicial decision on hijab will have binding on “constitutional morality” and “individual dignity”.
“When we impose, the element of choice of dress goes away. The woman will be obligated to wear that dress. It becomes compulsory,” he said in his concluding remarks before a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, hearing the hijab row.
“Women cannot be subjugated to any form of dress code and she can’t be made to feel less equal and children of a lesser god. Judicial declaration of every woman of a particular religion to wear hijab, would it not violate the dignity? If it is a compulsion of an attire, it is impermissible on this day.
“We propose no ban on hijab, it should be left to the choice of the woman. Right to privacy cannot be enshrined in public. Institutional discipline is paramount. Dignity of women must also be kept in mind in a plural society,” Navadagi said.
He also quoted a Bollywood song: “Na muh chupake jiyo, na sar jhuka ke jiyo, gamon ka daur bi aaye toh muskura ke jiyo”.
He argued that it is entirely on the petitioner to prove that the practice of hijab is obligatory in nature and compulsorily followed in Islam. However, they have placed 144 Surahs of Quran to the court’s query and there is no record on table to show that the custom is obligatory and it is an element of compulsion which compels a member to be expelled from the community, he added.
“Wearing of dress is freedom of speech, as argued by the petitioners as their fundamental right under Article 19 (1) (a). However, Article 19 (1) (a) is subject to public order, decency under Article 19 (2). In the present case, the uniform rule is subjected to institutional restriction and it is subjected to institutional discipline not only in schools but also in hospitals, military establishments and others,” the AG submitted.
“The rule imposes reasonable restrictions on wearing a headscarf,” he said, adding that a uniform is being prescribed till Pre-University as they have “an impregnable mindset”.
“There is no restriction on campus to wear a hijab. Only during class hours, in the classrooms, it has been not allowed and anything beyond uniforms, irrespective of any religion, is not allowed,” he said.
As Navadgi mentioned the total ban on hijab by France and Turkey in public spaces, Justice Krishna S. Dixit, who is also on the bench, intervened and stated that it depends on the constitutional policy of every country. He then said that he only wanted to bring out that there is no prohibition as such in our country.
Reiterating that hijab is not an essential practice of Islam and can’t come under the Constitution’s Article 25. (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion) he sought to bring to the notice of the court that how this has been upheld by various High Courts and Supreme Court judgments.
Giving clear indications of an early verdict on hijab row, the bench had directed counsel to complete their arguments by this week.
Chief Justice Awasthi asked the Advocate General to complete his submissions at the earliest, and he said that he would complete his arguments on Tuesday.
CJ Awasthi informed all counsel that the bench wants to complete the hearing on the case by this weekend and directed them to keep the arguments brief. “Make positive endeavors to complete within this week only,” he said.
Senior advocate R. Venkataramani, appearing for teachers who have been made respondents in the case, maintained that there are no hierarchies of religions between teachers and students. “School environment is more important than a public place. There should be a free mind among students and all minds of children should be in unity for education,” he said.
“Whatever may be the assertion, if the state is in collision with public order, morality and health, it will stop. The state comes in through Article 25 (2) in the matters of religion and finance, when it comes to regulation. There is public space and qualified public space. School is a qualified public space,” he added.
Referring to the verdict of the South African court allowing the wearing of ‘nose ring’ to school there, he stated that the court did not make an emphatic statement of religion in the judgment. “Borrowing from foreign judgments could be problematic here, though we cannot close our eyes on them,” he held.
Senior advocate S.S. Nagananda, who also appeared for teachers, maintained that there is a fine line of distinction as far as culture and religion are concerned. “It is not possible for Muslims to give five time prayers, similarly, it is not possible for a Brahmin to perform Sandhyavandana three times. This practice of wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice. There are some practices, which are required to perform otherwise, they will have consequences,” he said.
Hearing will continue om Wednesday.
Kolar, June 4: A man has been arrested on charges of raping and murdering an 80-year-old woman in Srinivasapura town of Karnataka’s Kolar district.
The police have apprehended the accused, who has since been remanded to judicial custody.
The accused has been identified as 37-year-old Baba Jaan, a resident of Gaffar Khan Mohalla in Srinivasapura.
According to the police, the victim’s body was discovered on Monday evening at a garage near an open field on Mulbagal Road in Srinivasapura town.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim had been raped and murdered.
The victim had left home two days ago, informing her family that she would visit the church at Srinivasapura.
The woman stayed in Srinivasapura for two days, and on Monday evening, when the woman was waiting for a bus to return home, the accused targeted her.
The accused spoke to her to ensure she was alone.
He then allegedly lifted and carried her to an isolated place, where he brutally raped her before strangling her to death.
The accused also robbed Rs 15,000 from her bag.
During their investigation, the police obtained CCTV footage from a nearby shop, which captured the accused lifting the victim and hurriedly carrying her away.
While the police were gathering information, the accused returned to the crime scene to observe the unfolding events. Alert police personnel identified and apprehended him.
The accused later confessed to committing the crime to rob the victim’s money and jewellery.
The victim’s family has urged the police to “kill” the accused due to the heinous nature of the crime.
More details regarding the incident are yet to emerge.
On August 21, 2024, the Chintamani police had arrested a 28-year-old labourer for sexually assaulting a 65-year-old woman on the hospital premises in the wee hours.
Based on a complaint by the staffers at the Chintamani government hospital, the police launched a hunt and nabbed the accused.
Chandigarh, June 4: After YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan, Punjab Police on Wednesday claimed to have unearthed a critical espionage network linked to another YouTuber, Jasbir Singh, a resident of Rupnagar.
Jasbir Singh, who operates a YouTube channel called ‘JaanMahal’, has been found associated with Pakistani intelligence operative Shakir, alias Jutt Randhawa, part of a terror-backed espionage network.
He also maintained close contact with Haryana-based Jyoti Malhotra and Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a Pakistani national and expelled Pakistan High Commission official, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav informed on X.
Investigations have revealed that Jasbir attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi on Danish’s invitation, where he met Pakistani army officials and bloggers.
He travelled to Pakistan on three occasions (2020, 2021, 2024), and his electronic devices contained multiple Pakistan-based numbers, now under detailed forensic scrutiny, said the DGP.
After Jyoti Malhotra’s arrest, Jasbir attempted to erase all traces of his communications with these Pakistani intelligence operatives to avoid detection.
A first information report (FIR) has been registered in Mohali, near here. The DGP added that investigations are underway to dismantle the broader espionage-terror network and identify all collaborators.
A day earlier, Counter-Intelligence Punjab, in a joint operation with Tarn Taran police, had arrested a man linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for sharing sensitive information concerning army movements during Operation Sindoor.
The accused was identified as Gagandeep Singh, alias Gagan, a resident of Tarn Taran town.
DGP Yadav had said preliminary investigation has revealed that Gagandeep Singh was in direct contact with Pakistan-based Khalistani supporter Gopal Singh Chawla for past five years, through whom he was introduced to Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Investigations also revealed that the accused had been sharing classified information, including troop deployments, strategic locations, and army movements during Operation Sindoor, posing a serious threat to national security.
The DGP had said police teams have recovered two mobile devices from the possession of the accused, containing sensitive intelligence that he shared with the Pakistani intelligence operatives, as well as the details of over 20 ISI contacts.
The accused also received payments from operatives via Indian channels.
Kolkata, June 3: The notification issued by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to fill vacant posts of teachers in state-run schools has been challenged at the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday.
The single-judge vacation bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury admitted the petition. The matter is likely to come up for a hearing at his bench on June 5.
The petitioner claimed that certain points in the notification, especially those as regards to changed weightage criteria in the distribution of total marks in the recruitment process, violated the Supreme Court’s directives on fresh recruitments.
The main ground on which the notification was challenged was that the weightage criteria in the distribution of total marks had changed from those in 2016.
As per the new notification issued last week, the written examination in the fresh recruitment process will carry 60 marks, as against 55 for the 2016 panel.
Secondly, the weightage criterion for educational qualification in the fresh recruitment process is just 10 as against 35 for the 2016 panel.
Most importantly, two new weightage criteria, each carrying 10 marks, “past teaching experience” and “lecture demonstration”, have been introduced.
Soon after the notification was issued, several legal minds apprehended that the notification may face legal hurdles because of the changes in weightage criteria in total marks distribution.
Legal minds felt that while two new weightage criteria were introduced to give an advantage to the teachers from the 2016 panel who lost their jobs. They opined that the changed criteria would be disadvantageous for fresher candidates.
Bringing about changes in the weightage criteria was grossly illegal since the same weightage criteria, which applied to the 2016 panel, should also be there in the fresh recruitment process, they said.
Now their apprehensions have come true after a petition challenging the notification was filed at the Calcutta High Court, exactly on the points highlighted.
On April 3 this year, the Supreme Court’s division bench of erstwhile Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.
The Apex Court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “untainted” candidates from the “tainted” ones.
The state government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) had already filed review petitions at the Apex Court on this issue.
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