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.”

    • @[email protected]
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      221 year ago

      I mean Sikhs have a special dispensation in law explicitly to carry the kirpan to court. It does suck for someone to have a specific law saying “you can definitely do this in this place” and have a rent-a-cop claim his personal decision is more important than the law of the country and a lifetime of religion and culture.

      Especially as most kids learn about the 5 K of Sikhism in school.

      • @FastAndBulbous
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        11 year ago

        We didn’t learn about Sikhism in school (actually UK here)

        • @[email protected]
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          11 year ago

          I’ve been out of education (both as a student and educator) for nearly a decade now, but a quick Google tells me that NATRE, AREIAC, AULRE, SACRE and the REC all recommend education on Christianity, Baha’iism, Hinduism, Jainism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and Humanism but YMMV by teacher, school, LEA, your personal attendance etc.

        • ferret
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          141 year ago

          I would assume they are talking about UK schools, because that is where the event in the article occurred.

        • @[email protected]
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          1 year ago

          in RE class (religious education)

          EDIT: just noticed you said “here in the states” in “UnitedKingdom” — did they undo the revolution, finally?

    • Veraxus
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      -51 year ago

      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”.

  • HeartyBeast
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    191 year ago

    I thought it was pretyt well understood that Sikhs carry these. I’m surprised the security guard hadn’t been properly briefed.

    • JJROKCZ
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      191 year ago

      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

  • @[email protected]
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    131 year ago

    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.

    • Blue and Orange
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      31 year ago

      “BIRMINGHAM IS A FUCKING SHITHOLE! I HATE THE FUCKING PLACE!” - Danny G

  • AutoTL;DRB
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    31 year ago

    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!

  • andrew_bidlaw
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    01 year ago

    I find them looking cool.

    a picture of kirpan, a small curved sword

    Also, kinda hard to use without a proper training. I don’t know if Sikhs go through it or mostly just carry it. Having a knife at all times sound based to me.

  • Mossy Feathers (She/They)
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    -101 year ago

    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.

    • @[email protected]
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      221 year ago

      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.

      • Mossy Feathers (She/They)
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        -11 year ago

        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).

    • @byroon
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      181 year ago

      This isn’t reddit

    • @[email protected]
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      1 year ago

      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
      • @sizzler
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        81 year ago

        If you need religion to teach you peace or love then you are truly lost.