The Sikh Coalition has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of

The Sikh Coalition has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) on behalf of Sukhjinder Singh Basra, a Sikh detainee, who suffered repeated disciplinary sanctions for keeping his religiously mandated beard uncut.

The Lawsuit was filed in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Southern California, the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, and the law firm Alston & Bird LLP.

The ultimate aim of this litigation is to ensure that Sikh detainees – and indeed all others who are required to maintain beards for religious reasons – are able to do so without penalty, the Coalition said in a statement.

This is the second Sikh Coalition lawsuit against the CDCR. In December 2009, the Coalition filed a lawsuit against California’s prison system for failing to hire a Sikh correctional officer job applicant who refused to cut his beard.

That lawsuit remains open and is actively being litigated.

In addition to enlisting the help of the ACLU and Alston & Bird, the Sikh Coalition was able to persuade the U.S. Department of Justice to file a separate lawsuit in order to protect Basra’s religious rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

This federal law extends basic religious freedoms to detainees and is based on the principle that religious freedom is a fundamental human right.

Staff, Indian Express, 8 April 2011.