Delhi HC agrees to hear plea against carrying of kirpan in domestic flights

“In alacrity to satiate demands of a particular religion, the State cannot disregard need for vigilance by allowing unrestricted and unrestrained on person carriage of kirpans on an unstated but facile and fatuous presumption having no factual basis that carriage does not pose or exacerbate risks to civilian flights,” reads the plea.

The petition also seeks the constitution of an empowered working committee to examine pragmatic solutions to ensure sanctity of religious expression of carrying kirpans in public, and at the same time prevention of its misuse in flights.

The petition alleges that a kirpan “remains a blade used in hundreds of homicides” and can cause havoc in the skies by reducing the aviation safety to a nullity. Singhal further argued that while carrying and wearing of kirpans has retained a religious symbolism, any liberal policy for carriage and “latent use” of kirpans has added an “undeniable dangerous” dimension to the question of social and national security.