Gurbaj Singh Multani

Gurbaj Singh Multani is a Canadian Sikh, born in 1989, whose school case reached the Supreme Court of Canada. He is a living person, and what follows comes from the Court's judgment and from published reports.

The judgment describes him as a baptised Sikh who believed his faith required him to wear a kirpan at all times. On 19 November 2001 the kirpan he wore under his clothes fell out in the yard of his school, École Sainte-Catherine-Labouré, in Quebec. The school board, the Commission scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, first agreed that he could wear it sealed inside his clothing. The school's governing board refused to ratify that deal, saying its code of conduct banned weapons. On 19 March 2002 the board's council of commissioners upheld the refusal and said only a symbolic kirpan, such as a pendant or one made of a harmless material, would be allowed.

Key moments

• His father, Balvir Singh Multani, went to court for him, in his own name and as his son's tutor, and the case is named for the father. The Superior Court declared the council's decision null and let Gurbaj Singh wear his kirpan under conditions. The Court of Appeal set that aside.
• 2 March 2006: the Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal. Justice Charron, for five of the eight judges who heard the case, held that the council's decision broke the Charter's guarantee of freedom of religion and that a total ban could not be justified. She wrote that, for orthodox Sikhs, the kirpan is above all a religious symbol, and that letting him wear it under conditions showed the importance Canadian society places on freedom of religion and on respect for minorities.
• Justices Deschamps and Abella wrote joint reasons and Justice LeBel wrote separately, all three agreeing that the appeal should be allowed. Justice Major took no part. The World Sikh Organization of Canada was one of the interveners. Because Gurbaj Singh had left the school, the Court simply declared the council's decision null.
• April 2026: New Canadian Media reported him as a panellist at the first launch event for the World Sikh Organization's report Understanding and Addressing Anti-Sikh Hate.

What he is remembered for: he is the student at the centre of the 2006 ruling that a blanket ban on the kirpan in a public school could not stand. All eight judges who sat agreed on the outcome, though they split in their reasons.