Former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, who was part of a bench that upheld the hijab ban in the state, was on Monday appointed as the chairperson of the 22nd Law Commission that has been constituted after more than four years.
The commission had been vacant since August 31, 2018, when its 21st chairperson, former Supreme Court judge BS Chauhan, retired from his post, according to Live Law. The function of the law commission is to carry out research and advise the Union government on legal reforms.
Justice Awasthi headed the bench of the Karnataka High Court which pronounced the verdict in the hijab ban case on March 15. The court had held that the hijab is not essential to Islam and had dismissed all petitions filed against the state government’s ban on wearing headscarf in educational institutions.
The other members of the law commission are former Kerala High Court judge KT Sankaran, professors Anand Paliwal, DP Verma and Raka Arya, and M Karunanithi.
This story was originally published in scroll.in . Read the full story here