India’s top court split on school ban on Muslim headscarves
By ASHOK SHARMA
Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP) — Two judges on India’s top court have differed over a ban on the wearing of the hijab, a headscarf used by Muslim women, in educational institutions and referred the sensitive issue to a larger bench of three or more judges to settle. Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia issued a split ruling Thursday after hearing petitions filed by a group of Muslims against a high court’s judgment in Karnataka state. The state court had refused to stay a government order issued in February that banned people from wearing clothes that disturb equality, integrity and public order in schools and colleges.
