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The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed to withdraw a plea challenging the notification allowing Sikhs to carry Kirpans on board any civilian flights in India. Last week the court had issued notice to the Central Government and others in the matter.
The bench of Justice Satish Chander Mishra and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Monday allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea. The petitioner informed the court that he wanted to go with the petition with logical conclusion but due to the some pressure he is withdrawing the plea. According to the plea, notification said that Sikhs shall have exceptional regulatory sanction to carry Kirpans on person whilst on board any civilian flight in India that is operating in India. The notification was issued on March 4, 2022 by the Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Government of India. The petition stated that it was notified that "a Kirpan may be carried only by a Sikh passenger, on his person, provided the length of its blade does not exceeds 6 inches and total length of Kirpan does not exceeds 9 inches. It is allowed while traveling by air on Indian aircraft within India only. It was also stated that it was notified that " this exception shall be for Sikh passengers only and no stakeholders or its employees at any airport (including Sikhs) and working in any terminal, domestic or international, shall be allowed to carry Kirpan. " By means of a corrigendum of March 12, 2022 to the impugned notification the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security rescinded this bar thereby giving regulatory permission to Sikhs to carry Kirpans on their person while working at any domestic or international airport terminal in India. The petition had sought a direction to declare the said Corrigendum as ultra vires. It is perplexing and bewildering how the preamble to the impugned notification can aver that carriage of Kirpans inside the aircraft is ' for purpose of safety of passengers, crew, aircraft, ground personnel and general public in all matters related to safeguarding against acts of unlawful interference with civil aviation,' the petition said. It was also said that such statement of object is ludicrous since carriage of Kirpans in a civilian aircraft has dangerous ramifications for aviation safety. If Kirpans are deemed safe only because of religion, one wonder how knitting/crochet needles, coconut, screwdriver and small pen knives etc. are deemed hazardous and prohibited. It was also stated that the exception is not only for Indian citizens. The impugned notification do not distinguish applicability to Sikh Indian citizens and Sikh from other nations can carry Kirpans on person whilst travelling in any Indian plane on domestic routes in India though the laws of their respective countries may prohibit carrying of Kirpans in civilian flights there. (ANI)
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