Sikh lawyer 'treated like a criminal' by court staff asked him to remove religious sword

[Premi5]

https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/sikh-lawyer-treated-like-criminal-20379543

Sikh lawyer 'treated like a criminal' by court staff asked him to remove religious sword

The lawyer describes the 'oppressive behaviour' after being asked to remove his Kirpan or be denied entry into the courtl use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice.

A Sikh lawyer has described being “treated like a criminal” after he was told to remove his kirpan by court security at Ealing Magistrates Court last Thursday.

Jaskeerat Singh Gulshan's brother was also asked to remove his Kirpan.

 

 

A Kirpan is one of the five K’s in the Sikh religion. It is an article of faith and must be worn at all times by baptised Sikhs. It's often described as a dagger or a miniature sword, which is what it resembles, but that description is so far removed from the purpose of a Kirpan as to make it misleading.

Jaskeerat, 29, and his brother arrived at Ealing Magistrates Court in West London on Thursday, April, 8, as support for a witness.

Jaskeerat is co-founder of Sikh Lawyers Association and is an immigration and family lawyer.

He has been attending courts for the past seven years.

 

At Ealing Magistrates Court he was asked to remove his Kirpan or be denied entry.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s official guidance, a Kirpan worn in court must have a 4 inch blade and 2 inch handle.

Jaskeerat, who lives in Southall, disputed this with the staff at Ealing Magistrates Court.

He said: “Are you joking? How can a Kirpan be so small? It is not a toy.”

“I’ve been attending courts for the last 7 years of my life.

“I’ve also been to the Supreme Court, European Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Appeal. I’ve never had this problem - why is there a problem here?”

It is legal for a Sikh to carry a Kirpan for religious reasons under British law

It is legal under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (section 139/5/b) and Offensive Weapons Act 1996 (sections 3 & 4) for a Sikh to carry a Kirpan for religious reasons.

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 safeguards the rights of Sikhs who carry a Kirpan, which is a necessary part of their religion.

Jaskeerat said he usually conceals his Kirpan under his trousers so as not to cause alarm.

He said: “A lot of people don’t understand it and they don't know what it is for.”

After arguing with the staff at Ealing Magistrates Court, Jaskeerat left his Kirpan in the car in order to be allowed entry into the court.

When he came back he said: “they were checking me like I was a criminal.

“All of a sudden it became a situation where either I listen to them or I leave the building straight away."

Jaskeerat has "never" had a problem in other courts

Jaskeerat also describes being denied entry into the public gallery without sufficient reason.

He said: “There was so much oppressive behaviour.

“It was so rude and arrogant. I had gone there to support a witness, I was allowed to go there. I missed the whole entirety of the case, it was absolutely absurd.”

Jaskeerat said the guidance by the Ministry of Justice is inconsistently deployed and needs to be changed.

“I am seeking legal advice and my aim is to have the policy changed because essentially that Kirpan is to protect anyone in need,” he said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We have investigated the facts of this case and security staff followed correct procedure.

“Two other parties were allowed to enter the court wearing Kirpans which were in line with HMCTS guidance.

“Where a member of the Sikh community wishes to enter a court building they can bring in a Kirpan that meets the following requirements: overall length is not more than 6 inches and blade is no more than 4 inches in length.”

[GurjantGnostic]

2 hours ago, Premi5 said:

https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/sikh-lawyer-treated-like-criminal-20379543

Sikh lawyer 'treated like a criminal' by court staff asked him to remove religious sword

The lawyer describes the 'oppressive behaviour' after being asked to remove his Kirpan or be denied entry into the courtl use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Your information will be used in accordance with ourPrivacy Notice.

A Sikh lawyer has described being “treated like a criminal” after he was told to remove his kirpan by court security at Ealing Magistrates Court last Thursday.

Jaskeerat Singh Gulshan's brother was also asked to remove his Kirpan.

 

 

A Kirpan is one of the five K’s in the Sikh religion. It is an article of faith and must be worn at all times by baptised Sikhs. It's often described as a dagger or a miniature sword, which is what it resembles, but that description is so far removed from the purpose of a Kirpan as to make it misleading.

Jaskeerat, 29, and his brother arrived at Ealing Magistrates Court in West London on Thursday, April, 8, as support for a witness.

Jaskeerat is co-founder of Sikh Lawyers Association and is an immigration and family lawyer.

He has been attending courts for the past seven years.

 

At Ealing Magistrates Court he was asked to remove his Kirpan or be denied entry.

According to the Ministry of Justice’s official guidance, a Kirpan worn in court must have a 4 inch blade and 2 inch handle.

Jaskeerat, who lives in Southall, disputed this with the staff at Ealing Magistrates Court.

He said: “Are you joking? How can a Kirpan be so small? It is not a toy.”

“I’ve been attending courts for the last 7 years of my life.

“I’ve also been to the Supreme Court, European Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Appeal. I’ve never had this problem - why is there a problem here?”

It is legal for a Sikh to carry a Kirpan for religious reasons under British law

It is legal under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (section 139/5/b) and Offensive Weapons Act 1996 (sections 3 & 4) for a Sikh to carry a Kirpan for religious reasons.

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 safeguards the rights of Sikhs who carry a Kirpan, which is a necessary part of their religion.

Jaskeerat said he usually conceals his Kirpan under his trousers so as not to cause alarm.

He said: “A lot of people don’t understand it and they don't know what it is for.”

After arguing with the staff at Ealing Magistrates Court, Jaskeerat left his Kirpan in the car in order to be allowed entry into the court.

When he came back he said: “they were checking me like I was a criminal.

“All of a sudden it became a situation where either I listen to them or I leave the building straight away."

Jaskeerat has "never" had a problem in other courts

Jaskeerat also describes being denied entry into the public gallery without sufficient reason.

He said: “There was so much oppressive behaviour.

“It was so rude and arrogant. I had gone there to support a witness, I was allowed to go there. I missed the whole entirety of the case, it was absolutely absurd.”

Jaskeerat said the guidance by the Ministry of Justice is inconsistently deployed and needs to be changed.

“I am seeking legal advice and my aim is to have the policy changed because essentially that Kirpan is to protect anyone in need,” he said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We have investigated the facts of this case and security staff followed correct procedure.

“Two other parties were allowed to enter the court wearing Kirpans which were in line with HMCTS guidance.

“Where a member of the Sikh community wishes to enter a court building they can bring in a Kirpan that meets the following requirements: overall length is not more than 6 inches and blade is no more than 4 inches in length.”

Thats unfortunate that happened to him. I hope some lawyers in the Sangat really get behind this and absolutely pummel the british injustice system for this. They should let into these idiots for the full pound of flesh and make a profitable example out of these clowns. 

[MisterrSingh]

They've really started to enforce various unrelated minor things since the pandemic legislation came into force. It's like they've been given a greenlight to be busy bodies.

[Premi5]

2 hours ago, MisterrSingh said:

They've really started to enforce various unrelated minor things since the pandemic legislation came into force. It's like they've been given a greenlight to be busy bodies.

What do you think  If he has broken their rules  - it says:

 "6 inches and blade is no more than 4 inches in length.”   

 

[GurjantGnostic]

1 hour ago, Premi5 said:

What do you think  If he has broken their rules  - it says:

 "6 inches and blade is no more than 4 inches in length.”   

 

There can't be a rule. Or they just make the rule a 1mm handle 1mm blade. 

Policy doesn't supplant law or freedom. 

[Premi5]

https://www.sikhpa.com/her-majestys-court-to-be-challenged-on-kirpan-policy/

 

A Sikh lawyer is leading a litigation against “a discriminatory policy” regarding the wearing of the kirpan (small sword) in court, with a hearing set for 10th March 2022 at the Royal Courts of Justice (London, UK).

The hearing comes after lawyer Jaskeerat Singh Gulshan was prevented from entering Ealing Magistrates’ Court as a witness in April 2021 because of the type of kirpan he was wearing. The kirpan is an article of faith mandatorily worn by Amritdhari (initiated) Sikhs without any specific style or size, although there are more common types. Jaskeerat Singh, with support from various Sikhs in the legal professional particularly Parminder Saini of No5 Chambers, including the group Sikh Lawyers Association, is fundraising £15,000 to litigate HCMTS.

Speaking about the case, Jaskeerat Singh said, “It is disheartening that Sikhs are facing immense discrimination on religious grounds in this modern era, yet, we talk about equality and diversity. Therefore, I intend to have the current discriminatory policy abolished as it only accommodates very small Kirpans and it is impractical. We need a policy which is in line with primary legislation and allows Sikhs to carry their normal sized kirpan without having to face any insulting behaviour as I had to at Ealing Magistrates’ Court, similar to the Scottish Courts‘ policy which accommodates all sized Kirpans.”

For more info on the case or to donate, go to – https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jaskeeratsingh-gulshan-2.