Karnataka Hijab Ban: Supreme Court Hearing DAY-4 -LIVE UPDATES

Mucchala : It is my preference, whether to wear hijab. My Quran says observe modesty. And to observe that modesty, I must have this personal marker. 

Mucchala : My children, they may or may not wear. Nobody can impose their decisions.

Mucchala : Women who wear hijab must not be looked upon as caricatures. They must be looked upon with dignity. They are strong willed women and they feel they have got the power because of this. Nobody can impose their judgments on them.

Mucchala : What is the crime that these young girls have committed? That they put a small piece of cloth over their head?

Mucchala reads out parts from Puttaswamy judgment on decisional autonomy : It is my decisional autonomy what to dress, whether to keep a small beard, long beard, whether to wear a cap.

Mucchala : We are all Indians. We are nationalists. Religious people have been nationalists. That is what the history of independence struggle shows.

Mucchala : Here, the State says the objective is to promote positive secularism. But what is the impact? The object might be noble, but the effect has to be seen.

Mucchala reads out from Puttaswamy judgment : Validity of the State's Act must be seen not on the basis of the objective but on the impact of the State's law.

Mucchala : Two rights are given, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. There are atheists, agnostics. Some believe in universality of all religions. There are several individuals, and Constitution has given two rights. They are not exclusive, they complement each other.

Justice Hemant Gupta : High Court is saying right to conscience and right to practice of religion are mutually exclusive.

Mucchala : Both rights are guaranteed by Constitution.

Reads Article 25-