Nine students move Bombay HC over college's ban on hijab, naqab, burka in classroom
Mumbai, Jun 14: Nine students have moved the Bombay High Court challenging a directive issued by their college imposing a ban on hijab, burka and naqab in the classroom.
In their petition, the girls said the ban imposed by the Chembur Trombay Education Society' s NG Acharya and DK Marathe College was "arbitrary, unreasonable, bad-in-law and perverse".
A bench headed by Justice AS Chandurkar will hear the petition next week.
As per the plea, on May 1, a notice along with a message was circulated on the college's WhatsApp group, which includes faculty members and students, imposing a dress code restriction on burka, naqab, hijab, badges, cap and stole.
The petitioners, who are second and third year degree students, said such a directive was "nothing but colourable exercise of power".
The naqab, burka and hijab are an integral part of the petitioners' religious belief and imposing a ban on it was violative of their fundamental rights, the plea contended.
The petitioners initially requested the college management and principal to withdraw the restriction on naqab, burka and hijab and allow it "as a matter of right of choice, dignity and privacy in the classroom".
They also raised their grievance against the notice with the chancellor and vice chancellor of the University as well as University Grants Commission requesting their intervention "to upkeep the spirit of imparting education to all citizens without discrimination".
However, when they did not get any response, the students filed a petition in HC, the plea said, adding the notice was issued without any authority of law and was hence bad-in-law, null and void.
The plea sought the High Court to quash the notice.
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Miscreants decamp with 70 kg silver articles from jewellery shop in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Unidentified miscreants allegedly broke into a jewellery shop here and decamped with approximately 70 kg of silver articles worth crores of rupees, police said on Friday.
The incident was reported at a jewellery shop near 8th Mile, Havanur, on April 28, they said.
According to police, the accused are suspected to have entered the premises from the rear after breaking open the lock and drilling a hole through the wall of the shop.
The incident came to light at around 7 am on April 28 when shop staff opened the premises and discovered signs of forced entry and extensive damage to the rear section of the building, following which they alerted police authorities.
Preliminary estimates indicate that around 70 kg of silver articles, worth crores, were stolen. Most of the silver items displayed in the cupboards were taken, while valuables kept in the locker remained intact, a senior police officer said.
Police said CCTV cameras inside the shop were not functioning. Efforts are underway to identify the suspects using footage from cameras installed in the vicinity.
The miscreants also allegedly took away the Digital Video Recorder (of CCTV) of an adjacent shop, the officer added.
Investigators are also examining the tools and techniques used to gain access to the shop, suspecting the involvement of a professional gang with prior knowledge of the store layout.
A case has been registered at Bagalagunte Police Station, and further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the accused, police said.
