The Karnataka Education Act, 1983, does not empower college development committees (CDCs) to prescribe student uniforms, senior advocate Ravivarma Kumar submitted to the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday.

Local MLAs head these committees and they cannot decide on the student uniform under section 143 of the Act which deals with the subject, he said, urging the court to allow Muslim girls to attend classes with their hijab or head-scarf.

The said section allows the government to entrust prescription of student uniforms to an authority, but these committees are neither an authority of the government, nor are they subordinate to the government. “Can an MLA be considered as ‘subordinate’ to the Government?,” he added.

Kumar made his submissions before a bench consisting of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, and Justices Krishna S Dixit and Khazi Jaibunnisa Mohiuddin, which is hearing a batch of petitions from groups of Muslim girls challenging the February 5 notification on student uniform.

Kumar mentioned separation of powers, and an MLA or an MP cannot exercise the powers of an executive under the Education Act as well as the Constitution.

It would be a deathblow, Kumar said, to give administrative powers to MLAs. Most represent a political party or an ideology. “Can you entrust the welfare of students to a political party or political ideology?”

The February 5 government notification, however, delegated the powers to prescribe the uniform to college development committees, headed by MLAs, Kumar, also a former advocate general, said.

These committees, he argued, were meant to keep academic standards in colleges, and not to deal with students’ welfare or discipline.

He also referred to the section 11 of the Karnataka Education Rules, 1995 to convey his point that an educational institution has to give a notice period of one year to parents if it intends to change student uniform. But these rules, too, don’t recognise college development committees, he said.

Neither the Act nor the rules framed under it prescribes any uniform, nor prohibits wearing of hijab, Kumar said. When there is no prohibition against hijab under the law or rules, how students (Muslim girls) could be kept out of the class, he asked.

The government notification, he said, indirectly referred to students coming to their colleges with hijab by saying authorities have noticed that some people were following a practice as per their religion.

“WILL WAIT FOR COURT ORDERS”

Pre university and degree colleges reopened in Karnataka on Wednesday under tight police security. Police ensured no outsiders were allowed near colleges to see students don’t come under outside influence.

At many colleges, students obeyed the interim order of the court, and entered their classrooms sticking to their uniform. There were also instances where students came up to their colleges and returned refusing to remove their hijab. Arguments also broke out between parents and authorities at some colleges.

Sections of students in Udupi district said they would wait for the court order before taking a call on attending classes.

In Bengaluru, police took some Congress workers into custody on charges that they encouraged students to wear hijab and defy court orders.