Apex court orders status quo in Gurdwara conflict case
8 Aug 2014 12:03 AM GMT
During the hearing, the Haryana government informed the SC that the new state committee had forcibly taken control of Sikh gurdwaras in the state. The next hearing in the case would take place on 25 August.
Clashes had erupted outside ‘Chhevin Patshahi’, one of the biggest gurdwaras in Haryana, when members of Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Committeee (HSGMC) ‘forcibly’ tried to enter the Sikh shrine and were stopped by police, Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Ashwin Shenvi said on Wednesday.
The SC order came on a petition filed by Harbhajan Singh, a resident of Haryana and member of SGPC. Police used water canons, lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge to disperse the agitated members on Wednesday.
Sensing the violence may spread further, the apex court has also ordered that the golak (charity box) be opened in the presence of both bodies (SGPC, Amritsar and HSGMC, Kurukshetra) and the money be deposited in two different bank accounts. ‘Despite the SGPC fielding many legal luminaries to fight their case, this is certainly a victory for Haryana Sikhs as SGPC will have to be transparent and accountable while opening the gurdwara golaks.
Haryana Sikhs will get to know how much money gurdwaras in the state are generating and where it is being spent,’ said former head of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Paramjeet Singh Sarna. ‘Though the SC has also directed the Haryana DGP to prevent any violent activity in the state, outsiders, mostly from Punjab, staying in Haryana gurdwaras are causing violent threats in the state,’ he said.
Clashes had erupted outside ‘Chhevin Patshahi’, one of the biggest gurdwaras in Haryana, when members of Haryana Sikh Gurudwara Management Committeee (HSGMC) ‘forcibly’ tried to enter the Sikh shrine and were stopped by police, Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Ashwin Shenvi said on Wednesday.
The SC order came on a petition filed by Harbhajan Singh, a resident of Haryana and member of SGPC. Police used water canons, lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to cane charge to disperse the agitated members on Wednesday.
Sensing the violence may spread further, the apex court has also ordered that the golak (charity box) be opened in the presence of both bodies (SGPC, Amritsar and HSGMC, Kurukshetra) and the money be deposited in two different bank accounts. ‘Despite the SGPC fielding many legal luminaries to fight their case, this is certainly a victory for Haryana Sikhs as SGPC will have to be transparent and accountable while opening the gurdwara golaks.
Haryana Sikhs will get to know how much money gurdwaras in the state are generating and where it is being spent,’ said former head of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Paramjeet Singh Sarna. ‘Though the SC has also directed the Haryana DGP to prevent any violent activity in the state, outsiders, mostly from Punjab, staying in Haryana gurdwaras are causing violent threats in the state,’ he said.
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