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Centre should file review petition against SC ruling on Haryana gurdwaras: SGPC chief Harjinder Dhami
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said the Act passed by the Haryana government for establishing a separate gurdwara management body for the state is “unconstitutional” and its validity should be cancelled immediately
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Harjinder Singh Dhami on Thursday wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, demanding that the Centre should file a review petition in the Supreme Court over its recent judgment that upheld the validity of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014.
In the letter, Dhami said only the Union government has the right to make any amendment in the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, and that too on the recommendation of the SGPC. The state governments cannot take any decision in this respect on its own, the SGPC chief added.
‘Act unconstitutional’
He said the Act passed by the Haryana government for establishing a separate gurdwara management body for the state is “unconstitutional” and its validity should be cancelled immediately.
Dhami demanded the Government of India to file a review petition and immediately pass an ordinance in the Parliament to undo the effects of HSGMC Act, 2014.
He said the SGPC came into existence before Independence, after great sacrifices. Any act of breaking this constitutional organisation will not be accepted at any cost, the letter read.
Notably, SGPC in its executive committee meeting on September 23, at Chandigarh, also decided to file a review in the apex court over the judgment.
He said that the Supreme Court’s move of validating the HSGMC Act, 2014, has affected the SGPC greatly as Haryana Sikhs have been separated from the central Sikh body. Dhami also termed the support to HSGMC Act by some Sikh leaders of Haryana as an attempt to create divisions among the Sikh community.
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SGPC meet today
A meeting of all members of the SGPC will be held at its headquarters, Teja Singh Samundri Hall in Golden Temple complex on Friday to discuss and chalk out further strategy to deal with the situation.
