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Operation Bluestar anniv today: Efforts on for out-of-court settlement of ₹1,000-crore damage suit
Fresh efforts for an out-of-court settlement have begun to resolve a 38-year-old dispute between the Union government and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee over damages caused during Operation Bluestar. The issue was discussed in a meeting held between Amit Shah and an SGPC delegation on June 3. The case is related to a ?1,000 crore damage suit filed by the SGPC in 1985. The court has issued a direction to resolve the issue by talks.
Fresh efforts have begun for an out-of-court settlement to resolve a 38-year-old dispute between the Union government and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) over the damage caused by Operation Bluestar.
The issue was discussed in a meeting held between Union home minister Amit Shah and an SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami-led delegation on June 3, ahead of the 39th anniversary of the operation carried out at the Golden Temple by the Indian Army in the first week of June 1984 to contain a Sikh militant. Building of the Akal Takht was partially demolished during the operation.
The delegation comprised two lawyers, including advocate APS Ahluwalia, counsel of the SGPC in the case pending in the Delhi high court.
The case is related to ₹1,000 crore damage suit filed by the SGPC under its then president late Gurcharan Singh Tohra in the Delhi HC in March 1985.
Dhami said, “The court has issued fresh directions to both the parties to resolve the issue by talks. Many of the witnesses in the case have died as it’s been 38 years since the case was filed.”
“If we opt for settling the dispute through the court, it will most likely ask the government to pay the compensation ( ₹1,000 crore). Following this, we will have to face the anger of the community and this would also not solve our purpose of filing the suit,” he said.
Dhami said, “In the meeting with Shah, we sought a solution from them and are waiting for their response,” he added.
Advocate SS Ahluwalia, son of APS Ahluwalia, while speaking on the case said, “The case is at the stage of arguments. A month ago, hearing of the case was held. The court proceedings are also underway.”
Earlier, on the court’s direction, both sides were ready to resolve the dispute in 2019, though no meeting was held between the two sides. The decision of obeying the court was taken during the tenure of Gobind Singh Longowal.
Reacting to it, the Sikh segments expressed disagreement with the move after the matter came to public through media reports. Assessing the harsh reaction from the community, the apex gurdwara body cancelled the decision in 2021, after consulting experts.
“A sub-committee was constituted, but I didn’t get its report. We asked them (committee) that we will contest the case,” said SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur.
Jagir Kaur had said, “We will not do any compromise until the Centre is held guilty.”
The 39th anniversary of the operation is being observed at Akal Takht on Tuesday. In wake of this, Amritsar city has turned into a fortress. As many as 5,000 cops of Punjab Police and personnel of two paramilitary forces are deployed in the city to prevent any untoward incident on June 6.
