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STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The
European Court of Human Rights on Thursday dismissed a case
brought by a French Sikh man who wanted to wear a turban on his
driving licence photograph in breach of French rules.
Shingara Mann Singh, 52, a French
national, lost a series of appeals in France against the refusal
by authorities to issue a new licence with a photograph of him
wearing a turban, before taking his case to the Strasbourg-based
court.
Under French regulations, motorists
must appear "bareheaded and facing forward" in their licence
photographs. The Sikh religion requires men to wear a turban at
all times.
"The Court noted that identity
photographs for use on driving licences which showed the subject
bareheaded were needed by the authorities in charge of public
safety," it said.
In a statement, it recognised that the
rule on photographs "amounted to interference with the exercise
of the right to freedom of religion", but judged that this was
justified.
Freedom of religion "did not always
guarantee the right to behave in a manner governed by a
religious belief and did not confer on people who did so the
right to disregard rules that had proved to be justified," the
court said.
Mann Singh had complained to the court
that the French regulations made no provision for separate
treatment for members of the Sikh community. The court noted
that Muslim women had to remove their headscarves for some
identification purposes. |
