SGPC row: Haryana says Act can only be challenged in court

Digging in its heels over the creation of a separate HSGPC, the Haryana government on Friday said that those against it can move court even as the centre asked the Haryana governor to withdraw the assent granted to a bill in this regard.

‘In case anyone has an objection, he can challenge it in the court of law,’ Haryana chief secretary SC Choudhary said in a statement.

The Haryana government’s reaction came hours after the Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami in its letter to Choudhary said the bill passed by the state assembly has ‘no legal effect’ and be withdrawn before any further complications arise.

‘As the Governor has already given his assent to the bill, he cannot withdraw it after it has become a Law. A notification for Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Bill 2014, has already been issued, thus completing the legislative process,’ he said. He said that legal opinion was sought to pass the Bill and thereafter it was tabled in the state assembly.

Choudhary said ‘the union home secretary almost stated his decision in his letter that the Bill is not as per the law and therefore, the state government should urge the governor to withdraw it.’