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Maharashtra

K’taka HC urged to allow hijab as more students skip school over the issue

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The Karnataka High Court was on Wednesday urged to direct the government to allow students wearing the hijab in classes as more students remained out in schools across the state, refusing to shun the head covering.

Teachers have also turned out students who came to attend classes with skull caps. Many students chose to be absent as hijab-wearing students were not allowed into schools.

A bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, and Justices Krishna S. Dixit and Khaji Jaibunnesa Mohiyuddin adjourned the hearing of petitions to Wednesday after hearing arguments and counter arguments for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Senior advocates Devdatt Kamat, Mohammad Tahir, and Ravi Varma Kumar presented their arguments in favor of girls demanding to wear hijab, while Advocate General Prabhuling Navadagi represented the government.

The petitioners submitted that since the colleges are being started from Wednesday, the bench must pass an order allowing Muslim students to wear hijab while attending classes. They also quoted a judgment of the South African court, where a Tamil girl was not allowed to attend classes for wearing a nose ring. When it was questioned in the court, the student was allowed to attend classes, counsel submitted.

The petitioners also submitted that the Karnataka government is yet to make guidelines on uniform, and without this, it is improper to make the uniform compulsory for students.

When one of the petitioners submitted that students with hijab are not allowed in Urdu schools in the state, the Advocate General objected to lacing arguments without submitting an application before the court.

The bench asked counsel to submit an application in this regard.

The petitioners also argued that the government does not have supreme power of prohibition in the name of public order.

Meanwhile, 25 girl students of the Government School in Indavara of Chikkamaglur district boycotted exams as they were asked to take off their hijab. More than 20 students went back to home without attending school for the same reason in Nelya village of Madikeri district.

The school authorities of Sasvehalli near Honnali in Davanagere district had a difficult time as more than 20 boys came in skull caps to attend classes. The teachers had sent them back. They sat in front of the school along with girl students wearing hijab and demanded that they should be allowed inside classes with hijab and skull caps.

Majority of students at Urdu Girls School in Kalaburagi chose to remain absent from classes as the hijab was not allowed. Similar incidents have been reported from Gadag, Hassan, Yadgir, and Shivamogga districts.

Congress Deputy Leader in the Assembly U.T. Khader asked the state government to resolve the hijab issue as confusion continued in the state even after the intervention of the High Court and interim order on the matter was given.

“There is confusion regarding interim order. The primary and high school students think that the order is only for colleges. This will lead to ruining the education prospectus of students already hit by Covid crisis,” he said.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy, meanwhile, said that the government would follow the high court orders in this regard.

This was the third day of hearing by the three-judge bench. Earlier, it was vehemently argued that the government can’t deny fundamental rights of students in the pretext of managing law and order situations. Counsel for the petitioners also objected to the powers given to the College Development Committee to decide on uniforms.

The bench had also refused to restrain media from reporting the proceedings as one of the counsel demanded that it will have effect on the elections of other states.

The court had earlier given an interim order that no religious symbols are allowed for the students in schools and colleges until its final order, thus ruling out both hijab and saffron shawls in the school and college premises.

It did not accede to the vehement arguments of petitioners seeking orders to the government for allowing students to wear hijab of the colour of their uniform to classrooms.

The state government had resumed schools till Class 10 and Pre-University College (Classes 11 and 12) are opening from Wednesday.

The hijab row which started last month in Udupi Pre-University College by six girl students, has snowballed into a major crisis in the state and has been discussed at international levels too.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Legislature Monsoon Session Scheduled in Mumbai from June 30 to July 18

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Mumbai, June 26, 2025 — The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Council will hold their Monsoon session from June 30 to July 18, as announced at the meeting of the Legislative Work Advisory Committee. The session is set to take place at the Vidhana Bhavan in Mumbai.

The upcoming session is expected to see important discussions on various state issues, legislative amendments, and government policies. Leaders and members of the legislative assembly expressed their readiness to engage in deliberations aimed at addressing the concerns of citizens and advancing development initiatives.

The announcement has been welcomed by political parties across the spectrum, with expectations of productive debates and decision-making during this period. The committee emphasized the importance of the session in facilitating smooth governance and providing a platform for legislative deliberations.

Details regarding the agenda and schedule of the sessions will be shared soon, with the authorities urging all members to adhere to the protocols and ensure a collaborative environment throughout the period.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra Govt Forms Committee To Review Shakti Criminal Law Bill Amid Centre’s Objections

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Mumbai: The state government has announced a committee under the Director General of Police (DGP) to review the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill pending in the state legislature.

The committee will compare the provisions made in the Bill with the new legal framework of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The formation of the committee follows a statement made by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis a few months ago.

The statement came after objections raised by the Union Home Ministry over some provisions that were in conflict with a few judgments of the Supreme Court. The CM had said the state would review the Bill and reintroduce it, if required.

On Wednesday, the state government issued orders to form a six-member committee under the DGP, with the following members – Principal Secretary to the Law and Judiciary Department, Secretary of the Women and Child Development Department, Additional DG (Law and Order), Deputy Secretary in the Law Department and the Additional DG (prevention of crimes against Women and Children) as member secretary.

The committee will work on two points – a comparative study of the state bill with the BNS and BNSS – and will recommend if more specific legal provisions are needed compared to the Central Act. The report of the committee is expected in two months.

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Maharashtra

Will BMC Wake Up? Eastern Freeway Becomes Mumbai’s Most Dangerous Road At Night Due To Defunct Street Lights

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Mumbai: Motorists on the Eastern Freeway, which connects south Mumbai to Ghatkopar, are yet again suffering from blackouts as the street lights at several stretches of the road are defunct. The 16.8 km signal-free road connects south Mumbai from P D’mello Road to the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd link road and is preferred by lakhs of motorists to reach the eastern suburbs.

However, instead of providing basic facilities like street lights, the BMC departments concerned are busy passing the buck. “The speed limit is 80 kmph and the absence of streetlight makes the road very dangerous. Accidents can happen any time,” said Hemant Vichare, a daily user.

“It has been at least six months since the road lights have been non-functional, especially from the Wadala to Chembur section. I have never seen all the lights working in the tunnel as well. During the rains, the water accumulates on the roadside and without lights, it becomes very risky to drive,” said D Pinto, a daily user of the Freeway and resident of Chembur.

“The least BMC could have done is install working street lamps. Earlier, it was only the Wadala section that was dark; now even the flyover towards Ghatkopar (after Chembur exit) has gone dark. The freeway has heavy vehicular flow with cars running at high speeds. It is very unsafe,” said another commuter.

The flyover was built by the MMRDA and fully handed over to the BMC for operations and maintenance in 2015. When the FPJ contacted BMC’s Chief Engineer (Bridges), Uttam Shrote said that he reminds his staff regularly to follow up. “I am aware the lights at certain sections of the freeway are not working. The tender and quotations to install or repair lights is in process by the Mechanical & Electrical department.”

However, Chief Engineer (Mechanical & Electrical) Krishna Perekar said that his department has neither floated any tender nor is in the process of installing new lights or repairing he existing ones.

“It is not possible that stretches of freeway are without road lights. However, the lights are always purchased in bulk and not for a particular section in the city. The ward offices in the concerned stretch need to look at the issue. The BEST and Adani Electricity supply power to the road,” he said.

When contacted to the spokesperson of Adani Electricity, he said that there is no interruption of power supply in the area, including the freeway from their side.

Notably, this is not the first time that stretches of the Eastern Freeway have gone dark. In July 2023, the media had highlighted the issue of non-functional street lights on the eastern freeway and how it is fast emerging as the most dangerous road in Mumbai, especially at night, primarily because of gross laxity on the part of the civic body.

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