A big move in favour of Sikhs has been ruled out by the top court of Australia on Thursday, when it overturned a law banning Sikhs religious dagger (kirpan) on school grounds, calling it Unconstitutional. The ruling has come by the states Supreme Court after Kamaljit Kaur Athwal took the state government last year, claiming that they are discriminating against the kirpan, which is one of the five religious symbols of Sikh, and they are supposed to carry them all the times as the part of their faiths.It is to be noted here that the argument on the restriction on carrying knives was discriminatory and was rejected by the court decision last year. But this week, three justices on the Court of Appeal determined that Section 10 of the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 conflicts with a provision of the Queensland Weapons Act of 1990 that prohibits carrying knives in public places and schools.The court ruling overturns an earlier decision that dismissed a claim from an Australian Sikh woman arguing the ban essentially prevented Sikhs from entering school grounds, which is against the Racial Discrimination Act. https://t.co/h4NaubePZ1— ABC News (@abcnews) August 3, 2023The Queensland Education Department responded by stating that it is considering the court decisions ramifications. “The department will now consider any implications,” reads the statement from the court that just issued the ruling.Athwals lawyer while informing media about the ruling said that it was difficult for the court to decide on this, “To balance the human rights of individuals to practice their religion and express their faith with the human rights of student and teacher safety”.Expressing his clients happiness, the lawyer further said, “Today marks the day that members of the Sikh faith can practice their faith and positively participate without discrimination as proud members of their local school communities.”
