Mandating helmets for Sikhs by a German court is against the religious liberty of Sikhs, says DSGMC president Sirsa

:dateline:Strongly reacting to a German court ruling, which mandates wearing a helmet for Sikhs to drive a two wheeler, the DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa has said that the German court�s ruling was against the religious liberty of Sikhs living in Germany. He has requested the German government to ask the Court to review its decision.

�This order by a top German Court infringes with the rights of Sikhs as they already wear turban.� In the UK & in many provinces in Canada, Sikhs are exempt from wearing helmets on motorcycles. We request the Govt of Germany to file a review and request the Court to reconsider their decision. We also request UN Human Rights to intervene in this issue and ensure Sikhs� rights to religious freedom,� Sirsa wrote from his social media accounts while sharing a link of the news about the Germany court�s ruling.

On July 4, a Leipzig based federal administrative court in Germany had ruled that it will be necessary for Sikhs to wear a helmet for driving a two wheeler and they can�t drive by wearing turban.

In 2013, a Sikh was denied permission to drive a motorcycle without wearing a Helmet in Germany. Later, the victim Sikh had approached the federal administrative court seeking justice while citing the restriction imposed on him as a violation of religious rights.

“People wearing a turban on religious grounds are not for that reason alone exempt from the obligation to wear a helmet,” the presiding judge, Renate Philipp, said, adding that the claimant had to accept this restriction to his freedom of religion, as it served to uphold the rights of others, too.

Interestingly, the Court also said that wearing a helmet is not only necessary for the security of driver �but also for the security of others�.