Hijab Ban In Karnataka- Supreme Court Hearing- Day-2 -LIVE UPDATES

Kamat : The long and short of the argument of the other side is you excercise the right outside the school. This argument came to be rejected in the Bijoe Emmanual case.

J Gupta : The national anthem case!

Kamat : Yes, and in that case, the petitioners were on a weaker footing

Kamat : Whether a student citizen is expected to surrender her fundamental rights under Article 19,21 and 25 as a pre-condition to access education?

Kamat : The judgments are in the context of fundamental rights in disability rights issue. But the reasonable accommodation principle comes from jurisdictions of America and South Africa, which I will place.

Kamat : Principle of reasonable accommodation has received your lordships imprimatur in many judgments. 

Kamat refers to House of Lords judgment which did not allow jilbab, as school has provided reasonable accommodation of headscarf.

"The question is whether a particular dress is a reasonable accommodation", Kamat.

Kamat : It is a case of headscarf, it is not a burqa or jilbab..they are different.

Justice Gupta : Burqa covers from head to toe. What is jilbab?

Kamat : Jilbab is an Urdu word. There is an interesting judgment of house of lords judgment.

Kamat : I am not challenging the prescription of uniform. Your lordships are right, can anybody turn up in a jeans? I respectfully bow down. I do not challenge the uniform. The challenge is against the State saying it will not allow student to wear hijab despite wearing uniform.

Kamat : This is not a matter which is simply a violation of a statute or a rule. This involves a primary question as to whether the State has failed in its obligation to provide for reasonable accommodation for a student's rights under Articles 19, 21 and 25.

Kamat : My endeavour will be to persuade your lordships to refer the matter to constitution bench under Article 145(3) of the Constitution.

Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat appearing in the lead petition Aishat Shifa versus State of Karnataka.

Kamat says Dr. Rajeev Dhawan is unwell and he will cover his arguments.