The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought response from Haryana government and the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) on a plea from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) against the party’s disqualification to contest the gurdwara committee elections in the state.
The high court bench of justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Meenakshi I Mehta has sought response by December 23.
As per the plea, SAD was disqualified to contest HSGMC polls on the ground that it is a registered political party with the Election Commission of India (ECI) under Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951. The elections for HSGMC are scheduled for January 19, 2025.
The petition also seeks direction to quash the order issued on September 18, 2023, whereby political parties registered with the ECI under Section 29A of the 1951 Act, have been restrained from forming a group/organisation, thus declaring them ineligible to contest HSGMC polls. Plea says the order issued is ultra vires, being violative of Articles 14, 19, and 29-30 of the Constitution, as it discriminates and creates an artificial classification between political parties registered under the RP Act and other Sikh groups/organisations.
It submitted that the commissioner, Gurdwara Commission Haryana, with this decision, acted not only beyond its competence but also its domain, as it rewrote/amended the qualification criteria as envisaged under Section 10 of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras Management Act, 2014. Thus, the powers and functions, which in terms of Section 52 of the 2014 Act, vest with the state legislature, were usurped by the commissioner, Gurdwara elections, to legislate the qualification criteria, who otherwise, in terms of Rule 18 of the 2023 rules, was only competent to publish a list of symbols.
{{/usCountry}}It submitted that the commissioner, Gurdwara Commission Haryana, with this decision, acted not only beyond its competence but also its domain, as it rewrote/amended the qualification criteria as envisaged under Section 10 of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras Management Act, 2014. Thus, the powers and functions, which in terms of Section 52 of the 2014 Act, vest with the state legislature, were usurped by the commissioner, Gurdwara elections, to legislate the qualification criteria, who otherwise, in terms of Rule 18 of the 2023 rules, was only competent to publish a list of symbols.
{{/usCountry}}The party has also questioned whether a political party, which is registered under the provisions of the RP Act, 1951, could be disqualified from contesting elections to a religious body solely on account of its recognition as a political party.