Jahanvi Agarwal
An Australian court has declared that a regulation prohibiting Sikh students from wearing kirpans on campuses is “unconstitutional” and has overturned it. Kirpans are a holy object in the Sikh religion.
After Kamaljit Kaur Athwal sued the state government last year, arguing that the prohibition discriminated against the kirpan, one of five holy symbols that Sikhs are required to carry at all times as a part of their faith, the state’s top court issued its decision.
According to their code of conduct, Sikhs are expected to wear a kirpan as part of their religious attire. They always carry one of five religious’ emblems as a sign of their devotion. The restriction is illegal under the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA), the Queensland Supreme Court found on Thursday.
An appeal has resulted in a victory for the Sikh faith following an original court decision that disregarded the contention that the act was discriminatory.
The original regulation, according to Bill Potts of Potts Lawyers Queensland, meant that Sikhs “were not able to go to school, not able to go to effectively carry out their religion.”
It was also stated that Potts called the repeal of the law a “great step forward” and that it restores freedom to those who practice their beliefs.
Potts stated that:
“This just simply means that they have the same freedoms that everybody else has and are not discriminated against by the state legislation.”
Court quoted the following statement:
“Carrying a kirpan as a symbol of a religious commitment would, at least ordinarily, constitute a use of the knife for a lawful purpose – namely, religious observance.”
It said that:
“To say that both Sikhs and non-Sikhs cannot practice their religion while wearing a knife ignores the fact that carrying a knife is only a feature of the religious observance of Sikhs. A law which prohibits a person from carrying a knife in a school for religious purposes impacts Sikhs by preventing them from lawfully entering schools while adhering to their religious beliefs.”
In the Court of Appeal decision, the justices made it clear that their choice did not include removing the rule that prevents children from carrying blades.
The ruling that makes it acceptable for Sikhs to enter schools while brandishing kirpans does not affect a school’s authority to prohibit other people, such as pupils, from carrying knives on school property.
The Queensland Education Department reacted by saying that it is considering the effects of the court judgment.