Five teachers and two superintendents from CS Patil School in Karnataka’s Gadag district were suspended for allegedly allowing girl students wearing hijab to appear for Class 10 exams on Monday, The Quint reported.

Names of the suspended teachers include SU Hokkalad, SM Pattar, SG Godke, SS Gujamagadi, VN Kivudar and two superintendents, KB Bhajantri and BS Honaguri, according to The Times of India.

Basavalingappa GM, deputy director of public instruction, confirmed the development.

“These teachers had allowed girl students to wear the hijab while writing exams on Monday,” Basavalingappa told The Times of India. “As it was a violation of the high court order, we have suspended them.”

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The teachers, however, told The Quint that they had allowed students in headscarves to enter the school premises but not the examination hall.

On March 15, the Karnataka High Court had ruled that hijab is not essential to Islam. It had upheld Karnataka government’s order from Febraury 5, which clothes that “disturb equality, integrity and public order”.

On Friday, a circular was issued by the state’s primary and secondary education department ordering students of state-run schools to take exams in the uniform prescribed by the government.

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Home Minister Araga Jnanendra had said that action will be taken against those violating the High Court order.

Karnataka Education Minister and BJP leader BC Nagesh said on Wednesday that the hijab ban had not affected the number of students taking the exam, ANI reported.

“Girls have the right to sit in exams, more than 1.57 lakh girls of the Muslim community study in schools in the state,” Nagesh said. “…Number of absentees out of them is minuscule. They are following directions given by schools.”

Meanwhile, 40 Muslim girl students did not take the first pre-university examination in Karnataka’s Udupi district on Tuesday as they were allegedly hurt by the High Court verdict upholding hijab ban, PTI reported.