A pilot working with IndiGo, a private airline, ha⛎s moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Union government to allow him to carry a `kirpan' while flying.
Kirpan is🦩 a short knife with a curved blade, worn, sometimes in miniature form, as one of the five distin﷽guishing signs of the Sikh Khalsa.
Angad Singh, a pilot with InterGlobe Aviation which operates IndiGo, claimed in the petition filed before the Nagpur bench of the high court that he has the right to carry a kirpan as pa🍷rt of th💯e freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.
A divisio𒐪n bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Abhay Mantri on Monday issued a notice to the Union government and the airline, seeking their replies. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on January ☂29, 2024.
Singh's lawyer advocate Saahil Shyam Dewani said the restrictions imposed by t💮he Ministry of Civil Aviation are required to be amended as on March 12, 2022, the government issued guidelines permitting Sikh passengers to carry a kirpan of a particula💜r size.
The guidelines, however, said employees (including those belonging to the Sikh religion) working 🐬at airports or airlines are not allowed to carry 🐽a kirpan.
This was a violation of his fundame꧅ntal rights, the🍨 petition claimed.
Also, allowing passen♐gers to carry a kirpan on board a plane but not giving the same right to airline staff defies logic, it added.
-With PTI Input
