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Closure of higher edu institutes extended, police hold flag march in Udupi
At least two parties have approached the Supreme Court in the matter, which has declined to give urgent hearing in the matter.
The Karnataka government has decided to extend the closure of higher education institutes till February 16 amid the ongoing Hijab row in the state.
In an official statement, the government said that universities belonging to the department of higher education and colleges under the Department of Collegiate and Technical Education (DCTE) will remain closed till Wednesday.
The police personnel on Friday carried out a flag march in Udupi as a precautionary measure to prevent any unrest following the Karnataka high court’s interim order.
“The march is being organised as a precautionary measure. No one should feel that they cannot go anywhere due to any fear. The government is doing this only for the protection of citizens,” said a senior police official on anonymity.
In its interim order, the high court (HC) had restrained the students from wearing any kind of religious attire on educational institutions’ premises for the time being.
Also Read | Hijab row: Student moves Supreme Court challenging high court's 'restrain' order
“Ours being a civilized society, no person in the name of religion, culture or the like can be permitted to do any act that disturbs public peace and tranquillity. Endless agitations and closure of educational institutions indefinitely, are not happy things to happen (sic) ,” the three-judge bench observed on Thursday.
“The hearing of these matters on urgency basis is continuing. Elongation of academic terms would be detrimental to the educational career of students especially when the timelines for admission to higher studies/courses are mandatory. The interest of students would be better served by their returning to the classes than by the continuation of agitations and consequent closure of institutions. The academic year is coming to an end shortly (sic),” the order read. The order was made available on Friday.
The three-judge bench led by chief justice of Karnataka HC Ritu Raj Awasthi and justice Krishna Dixit and justice JM Khazi is hearing the petition filed by several stakeholders, including at least five girls from Government Girls Pre-University College in Udupi, the epicentre of the hijab row.
At least two parties have approached the Supreme Court in the matter, which has declined to give urgent hearing in the matter.
The Karnataka HC has directed the state government to resume offline classes in all educational institutions. The state had ordered to shut the classes on Tuesday for three days to contain the growing clashes between students over the hijab issue.
“Pending consideration of all these petitions, we restrain all the students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls, scarfs, hijab, religious flags or the like within the classroom, until further orders,” the government said in its order.
