Latest news with #RajasthanJudicialServices


Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
SGPC moves high court on instructions for Sikh articles of faith in public places
Chandigarh: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and a woman lawyer have approached the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking directions for circulation of instructions to permit the wearing of 'karas' and 'kirpans' by members of the Sikh community at all public places. One of the petitioners, Amanjot Kaur, a baptised Sikh, was allegedly denied entry to a Rajasthan Judicial Services examination centre in June last year for refusing to remove her 'kirpan'. Recently, Gurpreet Kaur of Pheloke village in Tarn Taran had alleged that she was stopped from entering the examination centre as a candidate for the Rajasthan Judicial Services at Poornima University, Jaipur, on the plea that she was wearing her sacred articles of faith – 'kada' and 'kirpan'. Highlighting multiple instances where Sikhs were denied access for carrying 'kirpans' or 'karas', the SGPC and Amanjot Kaur, in their petition, have urged the high court to issue directions to the central govt, states of Punjab and Haryana, and UT Chandigarh to frame and implement uniform regulatory guidelines. According to the plea, which is yet to come up for hearing, such guidelines would help prevent further violations and bring clarity to public institutions dealing with religious articles of faith. The petition pointed out that the matter was earlier raised before the Supreme Court in Nov last year, but the apex court asked the petitioner to approach the high court concerned. MSID:: 122974948 413 |


Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Sikh girl not allowed to take exam for wearing ‘kada', Badal writes to PM
Chandigarh: Expressing grave concern over "growing incidents of disrespect and discrimination against the sacred symbols of the Sikh religion", Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "intervene directly to put an end to this painful chain of events in the country". Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In a letter to the Prime Minister, Badal sought to draw the PM's attention to an incident on Sunday in which a baptised Sikh girl, from Tarn Taran district, was reportedly stopped from entering the examination centre as a candidate for the Rajasthan Judicial Services at Poornima University, Jaipur, on the plea that she was wearing her sacred articles of faith – 'kada' and 'kirpan'. "This was a gross violation of her constitutional rights guaranteed under Article 25 of the Statute, and it denied her fundamental right to practise her religion. Article 25 of the Constitution specifically mentions 'kirpan' among other symbols of the Sikh religion, which are exempt from any bar even on flights," Badal said. He added in the letter to the PM, "It is shocking that rules, if any, are framed by lower authorities flouting the sacred Constitution of India. The govt of India should issue -- or, if necessary -- re-issue clear-cut guidelines to all states and Union Territories about the exemption to the inseparable articles of faith." Badal stated that it was "not a one-off incident but part of the ever-increasing number of examples of religious intolerance towards the uniqueness of Sikh identity. In a similar incident last year, two Sikh girls were stopped from appearing for Rajasthan Judicial Services (RJS) in an exam centre in Jodhpur." "Sikhs and their identity are inseparable, and this was duly acknowledged and constitutionally mandated for compliance for all purposes in the country by the Founding Fathers. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But some officials at lower rungs deem themselves even above the Constitution. This must stop as this vitiates communal harmony in the country," Badal wrote in the letter to the PM. "You are personally aware of the profound spiritual and emotional significance of the Sikh religious symbols and what these mean to our devoutly religious and fiercely patriotic community. I request you to issue immediate directions for compliance to ensure full respect to these symbols at all levels across the country," the letter read. Badal also urged the Rajasthan high court to provide the victimised Sikh girl, Gurpreet Kaur, a special opportunity to appear for the RJS examination, ensuring her right to uphold her faith is respected. Earlier in the morning, the SAD president had taken to X, asking Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal to take strict action against the guilty officials to ensure such incidents were not repeated in his state. Will Raise Issue in Parliament: Harsimrat Kaur Badal SAD MP from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, while condemning the incident as "unfortunate and discriminatory" and demanding strict action against officials who "barred" the girl from appearing in the examination, took to X and wrote, "I will definitely raise this issue in Parliament so that such incidents do not happen with our Sikh children in the future and a permanent solution is found."


Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Badal condemns denial of entry to Sikh girl to Rajasthan exam centre for wearing kirpan, kara
Sukhbir Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal president, has condemned an incident in Jaipur where a Sikh girl was barred from a judicial services exam for wearing Sikh religious symbols. Badal cited a violation of constitutional rights and urged Prime Minister Modi to intervene, highlighting increasing disrespect towards Sikh identity. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal SAD ) president Sukhbir Badal on Sunday claimed a baptised Sikh girl from Punjab's Tarn Taran district was stopped from entering a centre for Rajasthan Judicial Services examination in Jaipur as she was wearing 'kara' and 'kirpan', both sacred articles of Sikh faith."This was a gross violation of her constitutional rights guaranteed under Article 25 and it denied her fundamental right to practise her religion. Article 25 of the Constitution specifically mentions 'kirpan' among other symbols of Sikh religion, which are exempt from any bar, even in flights," Badal said in a SAD chief expressed grave concern over "growing" incidents of disrespect and discrimination against the sacred symbols of Sikh religion, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter to put an end to this "painful chain of events" in the a letter, Badal drew Modi's attention to the latest incident in which Gurpreet Kaur from Tarn Taran was stopped from entering the examination centre in Jaipur."It is shocking that rules, if any, are framed by lower authorities flouting the sacred Constitution of India. The government of India should issue -- or, if necessary -- re-issue clear cut guidelines to all states and Union territories about the exemption to the inseparable articles of faith," Badal said in his letter to the prime Akali Dal chief said this was not a one-off incident but part of the ever-increasing number of examples of religious intolerance towards the uniqueness of Sikh a similar incident last year, two Sikh girls were stopped from appearing for the Rajasthan Judicial Services (RJS) exam in Jodhpur."Sikhs and their identity are inseparable and this was duly acknowledged and constitutionally mandated for compliance for all purposes in the country."But some officials at lower rungs deem themselves above the Constitution. This must stop as this vitiates communal harmony in the country," Badal also urged the Rajasthan High Court to provide the Sikh girl a special opportunity to appear for the RJS exam, ensuring that her right to uphold her faith is in the day, the SAD chief asked Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma to take strict action in the matter to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in his state.


Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Sukhbir writes to PM Modi expressing concern over instances of disrespect to Sikh religious symbols
Expressing concern over growing incidents of disrespect and discrimination against the sacred symbols of the Sikh religion, Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Badal on Sunday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to put an end to these painful events. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Badal specifically drew his attention to the incident in which a devout and baptized Sikh girl, Gurpreet Kaur, from Tarn Taran district in Punjab was stopped from entering the examination centre in Poornima University in Jaipur as a candidate for the Rajasthan Judicial Services on the plea that she was wearing her sacred articles of faith – 'kara' and 'kirpan'. 'This is a gross violation of her constitutional rights guaranteed under Article 25 of the statute and it denied her fundamental right to practice her religion. Article 25 of the Constitution specifically mentions 'kirpan' among other symbols of Sikh religion which are exempt from any bar even in flights,' wrote Badal. 'It is shocking that rules, if any, are framed by lower authorities flouting the sacred Constitution. The government of India should issue, or, if necessary, re-issue clear-cut guidelines to all states and Union Territories about the exemption to the inseparable articles of faith,' said Badal in his letter missive to the Prime Minister. The Akali chief said this was not a one off incident but part of the ever increasing number of examples of religious intolerance towards the uniqueness of Sikh identity. In a similar incident last year, two Sikh girls were stopped from appearing for Rajasthan Judicial Services in an exam centre in Jodhpur. 'Sikhs and their identity are inseparable and this was duly acknowledged and constitutionally mandated for compliance for all purposes in the country by the founding fathers. But some officials at lower rungs deem themselves even above the Constitution. This must stop as this vitiates communal harmony in the country,' wrote Badal, adding: 'You (the PM) are personally aware of the profound spiritual and emotional significance of the Sikh religious symbols and what these mean to our devoutly religious and fiercely patriotic community. I request you to issue immediate directions for compliance to ensure full respect to these symbols at all levels across the country.' Badal also urged the Rajasthan High Court to provide the victimised Sikh girl Gurpreet Kaur a special opportunity to appear for the examination, ensuring her right to uphold her faith is respected.