Advertisement
Mumbai: An employee of private airline IndiGo has approached the Bombay High Court. The employee has demanded from the High Court that it should direct the Central Government to allow carrying the kirpan while flying the plane on duty. A Kirpan is a small knife with a curved blade. The kirpan is one of the five distinctive signs of the Sikh Khalsa.
Pilot Angad Singh of InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo, has filed a petition before the Nagpur bench of the high court that he has the right to carry a kirpan as part of the freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. In the matter, the bench of Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri on Monday sent a notice to the Central Government and the airline and sought their response. The bench has fixed the next hearing of the case on January 29, 2024.
According to media reports, Singh’s lawyer Saahil Shyam Dewani said that there is a need to amend the restrictions imposed by the Civil Aviation Ministry. Because on March 12, 2022, the government had allowed Sikh travelers to carry a kirpan of particular size. At present, employees working in airports or airlines are not allowed to carry kirpans. In the petition, Angad has claimed that this rule violates his fundamental rights.
However, the guidelines state that employees, including those belonging to the Sikh religion working at airports or airlines, are not allowed to carry a kirpan. The petition claims that this is a violation of Singh’s fundamental rights.
The petition further argues that allowing passengers to carry kirpan in aircraft, but denying this right to airline staff, defies logic. It argues that the restrictions imposed on Sikh employees are discriminatory and violate their religious freedom. The Bombay High Court’s decision on this case will have a significant impact on the rights of Sikh individuals in the aviation industry and the broader discussion on religious freedom in India.
