BCAS permits Sikh aviation sector employees to carry kirpan within airport premises

“The exception stands for Sikh passengers only and, no stakeholder or its employees at the airport (including Sikh) and working in any terminal, domestic or international, shall be allowed to carry Kirpan in person,” read the BCAS statement.

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Sikh aviation sector employees get a nod by the Aviation security regulator BCAS to carry kirpan in person within the airport premises, a document stated.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) order on March 4, banning Sikh aviation sector employees from carrying kirpan in person within any Indian airport premises, was criticized by leading Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

Subsequently, on March 12, the BCAS removed the ban. Kirpan, a curved dagger, has to be worn next to the body in Sikh religion. In the March 4 order, the BCAS said, "Kirpan may be carried only by a Sikh passenger, on his person, provided the length of the blade does not exceed six inches and the total length does not exceed nine inches."

Kirpan is allowed while travelling by air on Indian aircraft within India, it noted. "This exception shall be for Sikh passengers only as stated above. And, no stakeholder or its employees at the airport (including Sikh) and working in any terminal, domestic or international, shall be allowed to carry Kirpan in person," it added.

On March 9, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami wrote a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, stating that the March 4 order was an attack on Sikh rights. Therefore, on March 12, the BCAS issued a corrigendum to the March 4 order.

The corrigendum removed the paragraph that prohibited Sikh employees to bring kirpan at any airport. 

(With inputs from PTI)