UNITED STATES, March 2011: The Justice Department has filed suit against California prison officials on behalf of a Sikh inmate who says his religious freedom was violated when officials punished him for not cutting his beard. Practitioners of Sikhism hold that cutting one’s hair violates God’s design.
Sukhjinder Basra was punished for refusing to shave his beard in accordance with prison grooming policy. The suit states that by requiring Basra to shave, the prison compelled him to rebel against his religious beliefs, a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.