Naveen S Garewal, Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 20. The Sehajdhari Sikh Party has accused the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee of misinterpreting the order of the Supreme Court.
Party president Dr P S Ranu has claimed that the apex court had restricted the SGPC from any “adventurous” moves like electing its president or other office-bearers.
Releasing the Supreme Court orders, Dr Ranu alleged that the Akali leadership was misinterpreting the interim directions of the Supreme Court to create “confusion on the legal status of the SGPC”.
Reading out from the order dated February 17, he said no directions had been given to the Union of India for holding any election of the office bearers as claimed by the President of SGPC.
The order of the Supreme Court given out by Ranu reads, “Issue notice, returnable in six weeks. In the meanwhile, the petitioners Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, for which a notification has been issued by the Central Government on December 17, 2011, shall continue to function as it has been hitherto functioning from the date of its constitution”.
Dr Ranu alleged that it was unfortunate that the SGPC was facing precarious situation as the newly elected SGPC was a “dead House on ventilator”.
The party has been demanding re-election for the SGPC general house. The elections were held on September 18 last year.
Sandeep Khunger, legal adviser to the party, said the order was clear to the effect that the SGPC could continue to function as it was, maintaining a status quo, without expanding its activities till the next hearing of the apex court.
The SGPC had filed a special leave petition in the apex court seeking a stay on the judgment of the Full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High in which voting rights to Sehajdharis were denied by a notification of the Union Government, dated October 8, 2003. The SGPC had, in a separate application in the same case before the Supreme Court, prayed that the Union Government be directed to hold the meeting of the SGPC General House for electing the office-bearers of the newly elected House.
