Sikh cyclist’s disqualification over helmet not discrimination: SC

NEW DELHI: A turbaned Sikh, barred from participating in a sporting event without helmet or protective gear, cannot claim discrimination or interference with his religious rights, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

The top court refused to interfere with the alleged disqualification of a Delhi-based 50-year-old Sikh cycling enthusiast from a long-distance cycling event for refusing to wear a helmet.

A bench of Justices S A Bobde, S K Kaul and Deepak Gupta took strong exception to the submission of petitioner Jagdeep Singh Puri that if Army can allow a Sikh to wear a turban on the line of duty, how can the organisers of a sporting event object.

Puri’s lawyer said if a Sikh can be allowed to wear a turban in the Indian forces then why can’t he be allowed to wear it in a sporting event. “You cannot compare those in army with those who want to race. There cannot be any discrimination. You cannot join army and say I won’t go to war. But you can buy a cycle and choose not to participate in a race,” the bench said. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala police said Tuesday that they have registered a case against a convent in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district after a nun, a key witness in the sexual assault case against former Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal, alleged that she was illegally confined and tortured for deposing against him.

The complaint surfaced after the nun’s brother lodged a missing person’s report with the police saying his sister Lisy Vadakkayil hadn’t be seen for at least two months, police said. Police traced her to a convent in Muvattupuzha, run by the Franciscan Clarist Congregation. The 53-year-old nun later told the police that she was originally transferred from Muvattupuzha to a convent in Vijayawada and confined in a room for more than a month. She was moved to the convent in Muvattupuzha when she fell ill, but not allowed to interact with relatives and others. Sister Lisy is among the first to depose against the bishop and is also a key witness in the case.

In her complaint, she said she was tortured at the convent In Vijayawada and forced to retract her statement in the Franco case. She also alleged convent authorities threatened to brand her insane and admit her to a mental asylum if she did not retract her statement against the bishop. “Based on her statement, we have registered a case against the [Ernakulam] convent. We will also examine the role of the con-