Sikh policeman wins case for wearing turban with uniform in US
PTI | ByIndo-Asian News Service, Washington
May 06, 2004 07:03 PM IST
Jasjit Singh Jaggi wanted to be a traffic policeman in New York. But he was turned down because he refused to shave his beard and discard his turban, saying they were the tenets of his religion.
A Sikh immigrant from India has won a case at the New York City Human Rights Commission (HRC) over his right to wear a turban with his traffic police uniform.
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Jasjit Singh Jaggi wanted to be a traffic policeman in New York. But he was turned down because he refused to shave his beard and discard his turban, saying they were the tenets of his religion.
Jaggi filed a discrimination complaint with the HRC, pleading that he would like to wear the banned turban with his uniform.
City Administrative Law Judge Donna Merris on Monday ruled in Jaggi's favour, saying it was time for the New York Police Department (NYPD) to accept turban-wearing Sikhs as traffic constables.
In another similar case, Amric Singh Rathour, who also wanted to be New York City policeman, didn't get past probation because he refused to shave his beard.
He has now filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit, which is pending.