The Karnataka minister for school education, the department which had issued the order that virtually banned the hijab in classrooms in the state, has responded to the split verdict in the Supreme Court by saying he had expected a “better verdict”.

An NGO supporting the headscarves said the split judgment gave them “hope” of justice from a larger bench.

State school education minister and BJP leader B.C. Nagesh said: “We had expected a better judgment because, as you know, throughout the world, women are demanding not to wear the hijab or the burqa.”

“Even in Iran and Iraq, and countries like Switzerland, ladies are demanding their rights, particularly about not wearing the hijab and the burqa. In light of that, I had expected the Supreme Court judgment may uphold the Karnataka High Court verdict,” he added.

A Karnataka High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi had on March 15 ruled that the hijab was not part of an essential religious practice in Islam, while dismissing a batch of petitions filed by Muslim students aggrieved by the February 5 order of the state government.

The minister said the verdict does not change the status quo. “The Karnataka High Court order is valid as of today. So we are going to follow the rules which are framed according to the Karnataka Education Act,” he said, alluding to the February 5 order empowering schools to prescribe uniforms.

Hussain Kodibengre, Udupi district president of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, an NGO that supports the students’ right to wear the hijab, said he was hopeful of justice from the larger bench that would consider the matter.

Asked if he was satisfied with Thursday’s split verdict, Kodibengre told reporters in Udipi: “More than being satisfied, this verdict is one that gives hope.”

The hijab row was sparked by the decision of the Government Pre-University College in Udupi that denied entry to hijab-wearing girls in late December 2021. The college administration refused to allow them into classes and labs wearing the hijab, forcing the girls to sit in common areas and copy notes from their classmates.

Six hijab-wearing girls had to sit out their classes until the end of the academic year in the Udupi college while several more skipped classes in other institutions in the state.

The matter eventually snowballed with several government educational institutions coming up with copycat circulars following counter-protests by students from Sangh parivar outfits who started attending classes wearing saffron stoles.

None of the girls who challenged the state government’s order before the high court could be contacted by this newspaper for comment.