NEW YORK, NEW YORK, April 30, 2004: A United States court has asked the New York police department (NYPD) to reinstate a Sikh traffic policeman who quit after he was barred from wearing a turban while on duty and allow him to wear the religious headgear. Jasjit Singh Jaggi, a traffic officer, was “discriminated against based on his religious beliefs” and should be reinstated, as well as allowed to wear a turban and grow his beard, administrative law judge Donna Merris ruled on Thursday. The judgement came in a case filed by Jaggi last year with the City Commission of Human Rights, accusing the NYPD of religious discrimination. Jaggi filed the complaint on June 19, 2002, after he was informed by the department that he had to remove his turban and trim his beard or face severe consequences including removal from his job. His efforts to convince the department by offering to wear a white turban, the same color as the hat the city’s traffic officers wear, with a badge on it was turned down. The police department in its argument had said that sporting a religious headgear would hamper work. “He would not be recognized as a traffic agent and he could not put on a gas mask or an escape hood in an emergency, it had said.
HPI adds: It is useful for Hindus to track similar successful appeals regarding religious dress and symbols. Generally, a government agency has to show a “compelling” reason that a particular dress or symbol should be disallowed, such as it would interfere with the performance of duties, or create a safety hazard (as the police department tried to do in this case). The agency cannot arbitrarily create or apply regulations which violate a person’s religious practices and beliefs.
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