Punjab Cabinet gives nod to Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Act, 2023

Chandigarh: The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said that the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Act, 2023 will pave the way for eliminating the undue control of “Modern Day Masands” over the free-to-air telecast of the sacred Gurbani. Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister said that the Cabinet has approved to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 and to insert Section 125 A in the Act thereby casting duty on the SGPC to ensure free-to-air live telecast of the Holy Gurbani from Sri Harmandir Sahib.

He said that this amendment has been made with the objective that the entire humanity is able to listen to and see the live telecast of Holy Gurbani free-of-cost. Mann said that this move is aimed at ensuring that Holy Gurbani is not commercialised in any manner.

The CM said that this Act will be called the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Act, 2023 and will come into force on and with effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

He said that in the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, after section 125, section 125-A will be inserted for the live telecast of Gurbani free-of-cost.

Mann said that the Act stipulates that it will be the duty of the Board to propagate the teachings of the gurus by making uninterrupted (without any on screen running advertisements/commercials/distortion) live feed (audio or audio as well as video) of Holy Gurbani from Sri Harmandir Sahib to all media houses, outlets, platforms, channels and to whoever wishes to broadcast it.

The CM asserted that the state government is fully competent to amend this Act as the apex court had already, through a judgment, ruled that this Act is not an interstate Act. He said that a single family had dominated in the affairs of the SGPC since long due to which an irreparable damage had been made to the Sikh panth. Mann said that playing a dirty game, this family tried to encash the religious sentiments of Sikhs by giving exclusive rights of the Gurbani telecast to their blue-eyed channel whereas no mention of word telecast or broadcast was there in the Act.