The Evening Wrap: Supreme Court assures protection of rights in Karnataka hijab row

The Supreme Court on February 11 assured protection of constitutional rights and intervention at an “appropriate time” even as it cautioned against “spreading” of the controversy triggered by the hijab ban in Karnataka classrooms to a “national level.” “Do not spread things to a larger level. We are watching what is happening there. You have to think whether it is necessary to bring it to a national level. If there is something wrong, we will protect your constitutional rights. We are also concerned. Let us see... at the appropriate time, we will interfere,” Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana addressed senior advocate Devadut Kamat, appearing for some students. Kamat was orally mentioning an appeal against an “interim order” of the Karnataka High Court on Thursday in petitions challenging the hijab ban in classrooms. “The High Court has indicated that it would pass an interim order that none of the students should wear anything which would disclose their religious identity... Such an order would have wide ramifications not only for Muslims but also for people following other faiths. For example, Sikhs wear turbans. Such an order would amount to a complete suspension of Article 25 [right to religious freedom],” Kamat submitted. He urged the CJI to list the appeal for hearing on Monday. Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State government, said the High Court order was yet to come out. Kamat should have mentioned that fact. “We do not know what the order is yet. Meanwhile, the issue should not be made communal or political,” Mehta submitted. Kamat said the appeal delved solely on constitutional issues and had nothing communal or political about it. He said the arguments in the special leave petition were entirely legal and focused on a crucial right guaranteed by the Constitution. “The interim order may have a far-reaching effect. Schools and colleges are closed in the State... Hear us on Monday,” Kamat urged. “Please leave it to us,” the Chief Justice assured him. Karnataka High Court restrains students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab, religious flags in classrooms for now The High Court of Karnataka has restrained all students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls (bhagwa), scarves, hijab, religious flags or the like within classrooms until further orders in the petitions pending consideration on the issue of right to wear hijab in classrooms. While making it clear that “this order is confined to such of the institutions wherein the College Development Committees have prescribed the student dress code/uniform,” the court requested the State Government and all other stakeholders to reopen the educational institutions and allow the students to return to classes at the earliest. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, released its interim order on February 11. “Ours being a civilised society, no person in the name of religion, culture or the like can be permitted to do any act that disturbs public peace and tranquility. Endless agitations and closure of educational institutions indefinitely are not happy things to happen,” the three-judge bench, also consisting of Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice Jaibunnisa M. Khazi, observed in its order. “Firstly, we are pained by the ongoing agitations and closure of educational institutions since the past few days, especially when this court is seized of this matter and important issues of constitutional significance and of personal law are being seriously debated. It hardly needs to be mentioned that ours is a country of plural cultures, religions and languages. Being a secular State, it does not identify itself with any religion as its own,” the bench observed. The bench also said that, “Every citizen has the right to profess and practice any faith of choice, is true. However, such a right not being absolute, is susceptible to reasonable restrictions as provided by the Constitution of India. Whether wearing of hijab in the classroom is a part of essential religious practice of Islam in the light of constitutional guarantees, needs a deeper examination. Several decisions of the apex court and other High Courts are being pressed into service.” “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 and courses are mandatory. The interest of students would be better served by their returning to classes than by the continuation of agitations and consequent closure of institutions. The academic year is coming to an end shortly. We hope and trust that all stakeholders and the public at large shall maintain peace and tranquility,” the bench said. Chairman of Supreme Court panel on Char Dham project Ravi Chopra resigns Environmentalist and chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) to oversee the execution of the marquee Char Dham road-widening project Ravi Chopra has resigned from his post, stating the panel to protect the Himalayas “has been shattered.” The Supreme Court on December 14 allowed double-lane widening of roads for the project in view of “security concerns.” Chopra and some members of the HPC had previously argued against such widening on the grounds that it was detrimental to the Himalayan terrain and in violation of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’s stated position on the appropriate road width. The appropriate road width for the two-lane highway has been a controversial aspect. The HPC itself saw a division, with one set of members saying it would only be 5.5 m wide and another plumbing for a higher road width. The SC ruled in September that a 5.5 m width be enforced as it was in conformity with a 2018 circular by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for mountain roads. The MoRTH is also the key coordinator of the Char Dham project and in December 2020 updated the circular, relying on a position by the Ministry of Defence that some of these roads connected to India’s border roads along China and were critical to movement of armoured vehicles. A Bench headed by Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, while permitting the wider roads, also set up an oversight committee headed by former Justice A. K. Sikri to report to it directly on the project. The oversight committee would get support from the Defence Ministry, Ministry of Road Transport, Uttarakhand government and all District Magistrates. The judgment, said Chopra, confined the role of the HPC to overseeing the implementation of its recommendations for the project on two “non-defence” roads. Previous directions and recommendations made by the HPC in the past have either been ignored or tardily responded to by MoRTH and it was therefore unlikely that the response of MoRTH would be very different even in relation to the non-defence roads. “In the circumstances, I do not see any purpose in continuing to head the HPC or indeed, even to be a part of it,” he stated. The strategic 900-km-long Char Dham project worth ₹12,000 crore aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath – in Uttarakhand. Chopra’s letter dated January 27, only just made public and viewed by The Hindu, says that as a member of the HPC, he saw “the desecration” of the Himalayas. “I have seen engineers armed with modern technological weapons assaulting the Himalayas. They have slashed through pristine forests, wounding vulnerable Himalayan slopes to widen highways. Ever-increasing numbers of tourists speed along them, their vehicles spewing noxious gases that cover the towering peaks ahead in an unsightly haze. The engineers exult and circulate photographs proving their conquest of Nature, little realising that they too are a part of Nature and cannot survive if their own natural environment is destroyed,” he wrote. Opposition stages walkout over Adityanath’s remarks Opposition parties, including Congress, TMC and National Conference, staged a walkout from Lok Sabha on Friday protesting against the remarks of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who had said that the State can become Kashmir, Kerala or West Bengal if BJP is not voted back to power. As the House met for the day, Opposition members from various parties rose from their seats and reached near the well protesting against Adityanath's remarks. MPs from Kerala Congress had moved an adjournment motion over the remarks. Speaker Om Birla said the matter would be taken up after the Question Hour ends and asked the protesting members to go back to their respective seats. Soon after, the members from TMC, Congress, Kerala Congress, National Conference, DMK and SP walked out of the House. During the protest, TMC MP Saugata Roy called Adityanath ‘Jogi’, while BSP leader Kunwar Danish Ali said, “I seek apology from all of you that my Chief Minister is Ajay Bisht.” Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said such remarks made by a Chief Minister are highly condemnable. This is the first time during the ongoing session of Parliament, which began on January 31, that Lok Sabha witnessed protests during Question Hour. In a video message on Twitter, Adityanath had on Thursday said, “Beware! If you miss this time, the five-year effort will be washed away. And it will take no time for U.P. to become Kashmir, Kerala or Bengal. This vote will be your guarantee to a life without fear.” Exhume body, conduct fresh autopsy: Allahabad HC on U.P. custodial death The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh administration to exhume the body of a Muslim boy who died in police custody in Kasganj and carry out a fresh postmortem of the body at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. The court passed the directions after Chand Miyan, the father of Altaf, prayed that he was not satisfied with the postmortem that was conducted after his son died in police custody. Miyan had requested that his son’s body be exhumed and that a fresh postmortem be conducted on the body, preferably at AIIMS, Delhi. Miyan insisted that the autopsy be conducted outside U.P. because of the alleged involvement of the State police. The petitioner had presented to the court photographs showing the deceased Altaf hanging from a water pipe which was installed only three feet above the ground of the toilet in a police station in a western U.P. district. A Division Bench of Justices Anjani Kumar Mishra and Deepak Verma on February 10 directed the District Police chief of Kasganj to exhume the body and immediately send it to the AIIMS in Delhi, where a team of doctors would conduct a postmortem. The entire process of unsealing of the body and postmortem, and the subsequent sealing, if any, of the body, shall be videographed, the court said. High resolution still photographs of the body at various stages of the examination would also be taken and preserved, the judges said. The court also directed the judicial officer conducting the judicial probe into the case to expedite the inquiry, while directing that the magisterial probe also be completed within four weeks. West Bengal Assembly Speaker dismisses plea seeking Mukul Roy's disqualification as MLA West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Friday dismissed the petition filed by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari seeking Mukul Roy’s disqualification as an MLA under the anti-defection law for switching sides after elections. Roy, a former BJP national vice-president, had defected to the ruling TMC in June last year. The hearing in the case was completed last month, an official of the Assembly secretariat said. “The petitioner could not submit the quality of weight of evidence that was expected. And in the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, I find the petitioner has not been able to establish the contentions made in the petition...accordingly, I dismiss the petition,” Banerjee told reporters. According to Assembly secretariat sources, Roy would continue as BJP legislator in the House in the wake of the ruling. Banerjee, when asked about it, said, “It is for you to draw conclusions. I have just dismissed the petition following lack of evidence.” Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had moved the petition before the Speaker as Roy, who had won the Assembly election on a BJP ticket, switched over to the TMC shortly after. Ambika Roy, another BJP MLA of the State, had moved the Calcutta High Court challenging Roy’s election as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and prayed for the nomination of an Opposition member to the post, as per tradition. The High Court had asked Banerjee to take a decision on the petition for Roy’s disqualification as a member of the House by October 7. In case of failure, the court said that it would take a call on the matter. The Speaker’s secretary and the returning officer had then knocked the doors of the Supreme Court, which on January 17 expressed hope that Banerjee will take a decision on the disqualification plea within the next two weeks. Since the declaration of Assembly polls results in May last year, five BJP MLAs, including Roy, switched over to the TMC. Meanwhile, amid the infighting in the TMC over various issues, its State spokesperson Kunal Ghosh took to Twitter to say that the CBI and the ED should arrest Roy in connection with the Saradha and Narada cases. Ghosh, who was himself arrested for his involvement in the Saradha scam some years ago, said, “CBI & ED should arrest BJP leader Mukul Roy in Saradha and Narada case. I have already sent them letter praying joint interrogation with him. He is an influential conspirator. He has used different parties only for his personal protection. Mukul Roy should not be spared.” Roy, in apparent gaffes after switching over to the TMC, had said on occasions that the BJP would emerge victorious in polls. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 4,25,74,863 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 5,07,957. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 11 FEBRUARY 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Karnataka hijab row: Supreme Court assures protection of rights The Supreme Court on February 11 [assured protection of constitutional rights and intervention at an “appropriate time”]( even as it cautioned against “spreading” of the controversy triggered by the hijab ban in Karnataka classrooms to a “national level.” “Do not spread things to a larger level. We are watching what is happening there. You have to think whether it is necessary to bring it to a national level. If there is something wrong, we will protect your constitutional rights. We are also concerned. Let us see... at the appropriate time, we will interfere,” Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana addressed senior advocate Devadut Kamat, appearing for some students. Kamat was orally mentioning an appeal against an “interim order” of the Karnataka High Court on Thursday in petitions challenging the hijab ban in classrooms. “The High Court has indicated that it would pass an interim order that none of the students should wear anything which would disclose their religious identity... Such an order would have wide ramifications not only for Muslims but also for people following other faiths. For example, Sikhs wear turbans. Such an order would amount to a complete suspension of Article 25 [right to religious freedom],” Kamat submitted. He urged the CJI to list the appeal for hearing on Monday. Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State government, said the High Court order was yet to come out. Kamat should have mentioned that fact. “We do not know what the order is yet. Meanwhile, the issue should not be made communal or political,” Mehta submitted. Kamat said the appeal delved solely on constitutional issues and had nothing communal or political about it. He said the arguments in the special leave petition were entirely legal and focused on a crucial right guaranteed by the Constitution. “The interim order may have a far-reaching effect. Schools and colleges are closed in the State... Hear us on Monday,” Kamat urged. “Please leave it to us,” the Chief Justice assured him. [underlineimg] Karnataka High Court restrains students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab, religious flags in classrooms for now The High Court of Karnataka has [restrained all students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls (bhagwa), scarves, hijab, religious flags or the like within classrooms]( until further orders in the petitions pending consideration on the issue of right to wear hijab in classrooms. While making it clear that “this order is confined to such of the institutions wherein the College Development Committees have prescribed the student dress code/uniform,” the court requested the State Government and all other stakeholders to reopen the educational institutions and allow the students to return to classes at the earliest. [A file photo of students staging a protest outside Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College campus, in Udupi district on February 8, 2022.]  A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, released its interim order on February 11. “Ours being a civilised society, no person in the name of religion, culture or the like can be permitted to do any act that disturbs public peace and tranquility. Endless agitations and closure of educational institutions indefinitely are not happy things to happen,” the three-judge bench, also consisting of Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice Jaibunnisa M. Khazi, observed in its order. “Firstly, we are pained by the ongoing agitations and closure of educational institutions since the past few days, especially when this court is seized of this matter and important issues of constitutional significance and of personal law are being seriously debated. It hardly needs to be mentioned that ours is a country of plural cultures, religions and languages. Being a secular State, it does not identify itself with any religion as its own,” the bench observed. The bench also said that, “Every citizen has the right to profess and practice any faith of choice, is true. However, such a right not being absolute, is susceptible to reasonable restrictions as provided by the Constitution of India. Whether wearing of hijab in the classroom is a part of essential religious practice of Islam in the light of constitutional guarantees, needs a deeper examination. Several decisions of the apex court and other High Courts are being pressed into service.” “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 and courses are mandatory. The interest of students would be better served by their returning to classes than by the continuation of agitations and consequent closure of institutions. The academic year is coming to an end shortly. We hope and trust that all stakeholders and the public at large shall maintain peace and tranquility,” the bench said. [underlineimg] Chairman of Supreme Court panel on Char Dham project Ravi Chopra resigns Environmentalist and chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) to oversee the execution of the marquee Char Dham road-widening project [Ravi Chopra has resigned from his post]( stating the panel to protect the Himalayas “has been shattered.” The Supreme Court on December 14 allowed double-lane widening of roads for the project in view of “security concerns.” Chopra and some members of the HPC had previously argued against such widening on the grounds that it was detrimental to the Himalayan terrain and in violation of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’s stated position on the appropriate road width. The appropriate road width for the two-lane highway has been a controversial aspect. The HPC itself saw a division, with one set of members saying it would only be 5.5 m wide and another plumbing for a higher road width. [A bridge being constructed along th Ganges past Devprayag for the Char Dham project. File image.]  The SC ruled in September that a 5.5 m width be enforced as it was in conformity with a 2018 circular by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for mountain roads. The MoRTH is also the key coordinator of the Char Dham project and in December 2020 updated the circular, relying on a position by the Ministry of Defence that some of these roads connected to India’s border roads along China and were critical to movement of armoured vehicles. A Bench headed by Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, while permitting the wider roads, also set up an oversight committee headed by former Justice A. K. Sikri to report to it directly on the project. The oversight committee would get support from the Defence Ministry, Ministry of Road Transport, Uttarakhand government and all District Magistrates. The judgment, said Chopra, confined the role of the HPC to overseeing the implementation of its recommendations for the project on two “non-defence” roads. Previous directions and recommendations made by the HPC in the past have either been ignored or tardily responded to by MoRTH and it was therefore unlikely that the response of MoRTH would be very different even in relation to the non-defence roads. “In the circumstances, I do not see any purpose in continuing to head the HPC or indeed, even to be a part of it,” he stated. The strategic 900-km-long Char Dham project worth ₹12,000 crore aims to provide all-weather connectivity to four holy towns – Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath – in Uttarakhand. Chopra’s letter dated January 27, only just made public and viewed by The Hindu, says that as a member of the HPC, he saw “the desecration” of the Himalayas. “I have seen engineers armed with modern technological weapons assaulting the Himalayas. They have slashed through pristine forests, wounding vulnerable Himalayan slopes to widen highways. Ever-increasing numbers of tourists speed along them, their vehicles spewing noxious gases that cover the towering peaks ahead in an unsightly haze. The engineers exult and circulate photographs proving their conquest of Nature, little realising that they too are a part of Nature and cannot survive if their own natural environment is destroyed,” he wrote. [underlineimg] Opposition stages walkout over Adityanath’s remarks Opposition parties, including Congress, TMC and National Conference, [staged a walkout from Lok Sabha]( on Friday protesting against the remarks of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who had said that the State can become Kashmir, Kerala or West Bengal if BJP is not voted back to power. As the House met for the day, Opposition members from various parties rose from their seats and reached near the well protesting against Adityanath's remarks. MPs from Kerala Congress had moved an adjournment motion over the remarks. Speaker Om Birla said the matter would be taken up after the Question Hour ends and asked the protesting members to go back to their respective seats. Soon after, the members from TMC, Congress, Kerala Congress, National Conference, DMK and SP walked out of the House. During the protest, TMC MP Saugata Roy called Adityanath ‘Jogi’, while BSP leader Kunwar Danish Ali said, “I seek apology from all of you that my Chief Minister is Ajay Bisht.” Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said such remarks made by a Chief Minister are highly condemnable. This is the first time during the ongoing session of Parliament, which began on January 31, that Lok Sabha witnessed protests during Question Hour. In a video message on Twitter, Adityanath had on Thursday said, “Beware! If you miss this time, the five-year effort will be washed away. And it will take no time for U.P. to become Kashmir, Kerala or Bengal. This vote will be your guarantee to a life without fear.” [underlineimg] Exhume body, conduct fresh autopsy: Allahabad HC on U.P. custodial death The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh administration [to exhume the body of a Muslim boy who died in police custody in Kasganj and carry out a fresh postmortem]( of the body at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi. The court passed the directions after Chand Miyan, the father of Altaf, prayed that he was not satisfied with the postmortem that was conducted after his son died in police custody. Miyan had requested that his son’s body be exhumed and that a fresh postmortem be conducted on the body, preferably at AIIMS, Delhi. Miyan insisted that the autopsy be conducted outside U.P. because of the alleged involvement of the State police. The petitioner had presented to the court photographs showing the deceased Altaf hanging from a water pipe which was installed only three feet above the ground of the toilet in a police station in a western U.P. district. A Division Bench of Justices Anjani Kumar Mishra and Deepak Verma on February 10 directed the District Police chief of Kasganj to exhume the body and immediately send it to the AIIMS in Delhi, where a team of doctors would conduct a postmortem. The entire process of unsealing of the body and postmortem, and the subsequent sealing, if any, of the body, shall be videographed, the court said. High resolution still photographs of the body at various stages of the examination would also be taken and preserved, the judges said. The court also directed the judicial officer conducting the judicial probe into the case to expedite the inquiry, while directing that the magisterial probe also be completed within four weeks. [underlineimg] West Bengal Assembly Speaker dismisses plea seeking Mukul Roy's disqualification as MLA West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Friday dismissed the [petition filed by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari seeking Mukul Roy’s disqualification as an MLA]( under the anti-defection law for switching sides after elections. Roy, a former BJP national vice-president, had defected to the ruling TMC in June last year. The hearing in the case was completed last month, an official of the Assembly secretariat said. “The petitioner could not submit the quality of weight of evidence that was expected. And in the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, I find the petitioner has not been able to establish the contentions made in the petition...accordingly, I dismiss the petition,” Banerjee told reporters. According to Assembly secretariat sources, Roy would continue as BJP legislator in the House in the wake of the ruling. Banerjee, when asked about it, said, “It is for you to draw conclusions. I have just dismissed the petition following lack of evidence.” Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had moved the petition before the Speaker as Roy, who had won the Assembly election on a BJP ticket, switched over to the TMC shortly after. Ambika Roy, another BJP MLA of the State, had moved the Calcutta High Court challenging Roy’s election as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and prayed for the nomination of an Opposition member to the post, as per tradition. The High Court had asked Banerjee to take a decision on the petition for Roy’s disqualification as a member of the House by October 7. In case of failure, the court said that it would take a call on the matter. The Speaker’s secretary and the returning officer had then knocked the doors of the Supreme Court, which on January 17 expressed hope that Banerjee will take a decision on the disqualification plea within the next two weeks. Since the declaration of Assembly polls results in May last year, five BJP MLAs, including Roy, switched over to the TMC. Meanwhile, amid the infighting in the TMC over various issues, its State spokesperson Kunal Ghosh took to Twitter to say that the CBI and the ED should arrest Roy in connection with the Saradha and Narada cases. Ghosh, who was himself arrested for his involvement in the Saradha scam some years ago, said, “CBI & ED should arrest BJP leader Mukul Roy in Saradha and Narada case. I have already sent them letter praying joint interrogation with him. He is an influential conspirator. He has used different parties only for his personal protection. Mukul Roy should not be spared.” Roy, in apparent gaffes after switching over to the TMC, had said on occasions that the BJP would emerge victorious in polls. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 4,25,74,863 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 5,07,957. [underlineimg] Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [[U.P. Assembly elections | Will farm anger swing the fortunes of Baghpat?] U.P. Assembly elections | Will farm anger swing the fortunes of Baghpat?]( [[‘Gehraiyaan’ movie review: Needs to be relished for its deeper meanings and heartfelt performances] ‘Gehraiyaan’ movie review: Needs to be relished for its deeper meanings and heartfelt performances]( [[‘Bhamakalapam’ movie review: Priyamani shines in this macabre crime comedy] ‘Bhamakalapam’ movie review: Priyamani shines in this macabre crime comedy]( [[Watch | Ali Fazal on his ‘Death on the Nile’ experience] Watch | Ali Fazal on his ‘Death on the Nile’ experience]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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