This Article is From Feb 07, 2019

Sikh Lawyer Tells Top Court He Was Denied Entry For Carrying Kirpan

The lawyer said the Constitution guarantees him the freedom of practising the religion and he has been "humiliated, insulted, tortured" every time he visited the top court as the security officers did not allow a kirpan inside.

Sikh Lawyer Tells Top Court He Was Denied Entry For Carrying Kirpan

Security guards denied him entry saying the kirpan's length is more than what is permitted.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today assured a Mumbai-based Sikh lawyer that it would look into his complaint against security officers who denied him entry into the court premises with kirpan.

The lawyer said the Constitution guarantees him the freedom of practising the religion and he has been "humiliated, insulted, tortured" every time he visited the top court as the security officers did not allow a kirpan inside.

"We will certainly look into it," a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told lawyer Amritpal Singh Khalsa, who mentioned his complaint for redressal.

The lawyer sought directions to the security department to ensure that young Sikh lawyers like him are not "humiliated and insulted" and are allowed to wear and carry kirpan in court premises.

In his complaint, Mr Khalsa said the security guards denied him entry saying the kirpan's length was more than what was permitted, though there is no restriction on its size under the law.

"Every time I enter the apex court I am humiliated, made to feel as I am an untouchable. I am denied entry to court premises just because I carry a kirpan for which the security denies entry citing its length to be more than six inches," Mr Khalsa said.

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