In a case that pits religious freedom against school safety, the country's top court is going to weigh in on a student's right to wear a religious dagger to class.

From Ottawa, the Montreal Gazette reports that the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to weigh in on Gurbaj Singh Multani's case.

He's the Montreal student who was banned from Ste-Catherine-Laboure School in 2001 for wearing a kirpan, or ceremonial dagger, to his lessons.

Officials at the suburban Montreal school learned he was carrying the kirpan when a playground spill allowed a parent to catch a glimpse of the knife under his clothing.

Parents expressed concern the dagger could be used as a weapon. The school board then sent him a letter asking that the kirpan be traded for a plastic replica.

The school board and the family were unable to reach a settlement on the matter, sending the case to court.

In 2002, the Quebec Superior Court ruled that Multani could wear the kirpan -- as long as it was wrapped and checked by school officials.

The school appealed, however, arguing that the blade posed a danger to other students. The Quebec Court of Appeal agreed, ruling the ban a reasonable limit on religious freedom.

It overturned the lower court's decision earlier this year.

Now that the country's top court is set to weigh in, many -- Sikh and non-Sikh alike -- are keeping a close eye on the case.

"We live in a secular society, which means that no religion can be given preference,'' Singh family lawyer Julius Grey told The Gazette.

"So any judgment in favour or against one religion must apply to all the others.''

Multani now attends a private high school that permits the dagger.