Jatinder Singh, from Smethwick, was summoned to serve as a juror at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday
But, he said, a security guard refused him entry at the court over his kirpan, the sword carried by all Sikhs.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said Mr Singh was released from his duties as there was a surplus of required jurors.
Meanwhile, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has apologised to Mr Singh.
Khalsa Sikhs carry the five Ks with them at all times, as a symbol of their faith.
These include Kesh or uncut hair; Kara which is a a steel bracelet; the Kanga, a wooden comb; Kacca or cotton underwear and the Kirpan
Mr Singh, who has served as president at Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick and as secretary general of the Sikh Council UK, said this was the second time he has been summoned for jury service, the first passing with no issue.
On this occasion, he entered the morning session with no problems, but when he tried to return to the court after lunch was pulled aside by a security guard and told he could not go in.
“The security guard said I could take [my kirpan] off and leave it with him and collect it at the end of the day,” he said.
"I felt like a child who has gone to school and taken something they shouldn’t and had it confiscated.
“To have that happen to me, I felt embarrassed, I felt discriminated against, I didn’t expect it to happen to me.”
He called for the (MoJ) to work with Sikh and other religious organisations to create easily accessible guidelines that can be provided to staff.
Dabinderjit Singh, the principal adviser to the Sikh Federation UK said it had written to Justice Minister Alex Chalk asking him to condemn the treatment of Mr Singh.
The MoJ said members of the Sikh community wishing to enter a court building could bring in a Kirpan which was not more than six inches long (15cm) and with a blade no more than five inches (12cm) in length - which Mr Singh said his was.
A spokesperson for HMCTS added: “We have apologised to Mr Singh for any distress caused and have reminded our contracted security officers of the correct steps to take to prevent this incident from happening again.”
I thought it was pretyt well understood that Sikhs carry these. I’m surprised the security guard hadn’t been properly briefed.
Maybe in the UK, as an American I didn’t even know Sikhs existed until I was 20 and met one while trying to move to a city. I didn’t even know about the 5 Ks until today at 30, I thought the turban and suit/vest thing they wear were then major religious adornments. Then again the only Sikh I see regularly is the Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh
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Not in the US they don’t
Glances at the name of the community. I mean, possibly not in Burkina Faso, either.
I think he meant that we aren’t taught about that in secondary school over here. I know Sikhs were never mentioned at my school for example. No need to call the guy a liar
“This is my emotional support sword”
It’s actually an important part of their religious and cultural practices, and according to the article it appears that this man did follow the restrictions placed on these ceremonial blades by the court, so he should not have been denied entry.
It’s actually an important part of their religious and cultural practices
that should -imho- never be relevant. Religions shouldn’t have any more legal meaning than a book club. but here we are.
I tend to agree, but the place to start isn’t by targeting minority religions.
just wait until we invent actual lightsabers and the jedi start showing up
The younglings: “Here we go again!”
Seinfeld slap bass
But that minority religion is the only one presenting the problem…
TIL that adhering to the court’s own policy is “causing a problem.” Sure, let’s just let officials make up rules on the fly instead of applying their own policies fairly. Surely that won’t cause any further problems.
First, I said “presenting the problem”, not “causing a problem”.
Second, I didn’t say that rules should be made up on the spot. But it should have been dealt with originally instead of letting it get to this point. Rolling over for a single religion is the antithesis of the separation of church and state, regardless of how much of a minority it is.
Rolling over for a single religion
Lmao this is so unhinged and dramatic. Kirpans are generally dull-bladed and less threatening than a sharp pen or pencil. The only religion I see public officials rolling over for is Christianity.
Edit: Also, just change “causing” to “presenting” in my last comment, if you prefer. Either way, it serves to highlight your own folly.
“What task has it been trained to help you with?”
So you don’t know what the kirpan is for or what it symbolizes.
Way to advertise your ignorance like some maga chud screaming “woke”.
MFW Americans realise this is how they get to carry guns into schools.
This is an interesting problem. On the one hand, the rules were clearly defined and he followed them. On the other, I feel that religious exemptions are a slippery slope that could enable poor behavior. Though his behavior was not poor, others could use that as an opportunity to act poorly.
Ideally I’d love a policy that meets our needs when applied uniformly, but in this case I don’t see an alternative to individual review of religious exemption requests. But who reviews the reviewers? It is a laborious bootstrap problem and would ultimately need a certifying body like we have NIST for measurement standards.
It is birmingham. You can’t be too careful :P
“BIRMINGHAM IS A FUCKING SHITHOLE! I HATE THE FUCKING PLACE!” - Danny G
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Sikh man said he felt “embarrassed and discriminated against” after being prevented from taking part in jury service due to his religious sword.
These include Kesh or uncut hair; Kara which is a a steel bracelet; the Kanga, a wooden comb; Kacca or cotton underwear and the Kirpan
Mr Singh, who has served as president at Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick and as secretary general of the Sikh Council UK, said this was the second time he has been summoned for jury service, the first passing with no issue.
On this occasion, he entered the morning session with no problems, but when he tried to return to the court after lunch was pulled aside by a security guard and told he could not go in.
He called for the (MoJ) to work with Sikh and other religious organisations to create easily accessible guidelines that can be provided to staff.
A spokesperson for HMCTS added: “We have apologised to Mr Singh for any distress caused and have reminded our contracted security officers of the correct steps to take to prevent this incident from happening again.”
The original article contains 430 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 57%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Attacking
Damn, reddit atheists out in full force huh? Out of all the religions to mock, make fun of, or throw a temper tantrum about, Sikhism should be at the bottom of the list. My understanding is that their religion literally does its best to avoid conflict with other religions and beliefs, including atheism, as it sees all people who seek the Absolute Truth to be valid.
I’m an atheist. I like Sikhs. I’ve met a few in my life and they have seemed to be excellent people. They were kind, interested in the world around them, and unlike most religious people they never tried to push their beliefs. Their outfit is kinda rad too, what with the turban and sword and all. I’ll take them over any of the Abrahamic faiths any day.
Amazing beards, too.
To be clear, I’m not referring to all atheists; I’m talking about the reddit-style ones that seem to take offense at any and all religions and get angry when anyone asks for any kind of exemption or allowance based on their religion (aka, anti-theists).
This isn’t reddit
A Sikh with a kirpan is less of a threat than a Christian with a Bible
Didn’t you hear? They’re all supremely enlightened and know the absolute truth:
- All religions are bad and wrong and stupid
- No religion teaches peace or love
- Every atheist is smarter and superior to anyone with faith
- Every person who believes in anything is wasting their life
If you need religion to teach you peace or love then you are truly lost.
