PATIALA: The Hasselt Civil Court  of Belgium overturned a ban on the patka on Tuesday, a Sikh head covering, which was imposed by a state school, KTA Domein Speelhof, on five Sikh schoolboys since 2005.

The court said that the ban on the religious head covering was a violation of the Sikh students' right to manifest their religion under article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Belgium is a signatory.

Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS legal director said over phone that in a judgment handed down Tuesday, Judge Madam H. Coenen said that by excluding young people because of their religious beliefs the Domein Speelhof school in St Truiden had violated their right to practice their faith.

The Hasselt court heard evidence that in 2005, KTA Domein Speelhof school, that had previously allowed Sikh students to wear the patka, had introduced a uniform rule banning the wearing of any head dress, including the patka, which affected five Sikh schoolboys, Pawandeep Singh, 18, Jaswant Singh, 20, Parminder Singh, 17, Harjeet Singh, 14, and Sukhdeep Singh, 16.

"The Court has sent a clear message that it is illegal for a school to deny education to a student because of his religious belief," said Menjinderpal, The Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Belgium also hired Walter Van Steenbrugge to represent the five Belgian Sikh schoolboys.

"Unlike France, there is no law in Belgium that bans religious signs in schools, yet the school in question had imposed the ban in the name of a school uniform policy that banned any head covering," said Menjinderpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS legal director who had been dealing with this case since 2005.

"This judgment proves that Belgium respects freedom of religion and will not tolerate a ban on religious signs in schools in the name of a uniform policy. We applaud and thank the families of the five Sikh schoolboys and the 6,000 strong Belgian Sikh community for standing resolutely against the ban," she added.

According to Kaur, Pawandeep Singh, one of the students who had to leave the school because of the ban on the patka said that he couldn't believe it when he was told just now that we have won the case. He was very happy for all Sikh boys who will now be able to wear a patka in all Belgian schools."

In 2005, UNITED SIKHS took up the case in response to a global appeal for assistance from the secretary of the Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Belgium, Amarjit Kaur, the ban at Domein Speelhof had forced the Sikh students to travel 100 miles everyday to attend another school or to attend school with a bare head.

According to Menjinderpal Kaur the parents of the affected students telephoned UNITED SIKHS to convey their gratitude for the support they received. "We are very grateful to UNITED SIKHS, the Guru Nanak Sikh Society and the global Sikh community for standing by us," said Karamjeet Singh, father of Harjeet Singh and Sukhdeep Singh, who will be returning to Domein Speelhof school wearing their patka, whilst the other three students will continue their education in the technical schools in which they are now enrolled.