New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Act, 2014, under which a separate committee was constituted to manage the affairs of gurdwaras in the state.
A bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Vikram Nath dismissed a petition by a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee seeking quashing of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act.
The apex court’s decision came on a 2014 petition filed by Harbhajan Singh, a resident of Haryana, which contended that section 72 of the Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966 states that the power to make laws with respect to the SGPC as an inter-state body corporate Is. Reserved only with the central government and the law does not contain any provision for any division by enactment of state law.
The petition had contended that the hasty act was not only against the constitutional provisions and statutory provisions of the Punjab Reorganization Act, but was also divisive in its intent to create differences among the followers of Sikhism.
“Under the law, Haryana cannot legislate with respect to a subject which is already in possession of a central law as the subject of religious institutions pertains to entry 28 List III. Strict provisions have not been followed in respect of inter-state body corporate under the law.
“It is important to note that the mandate has been given by the Central Government in respect of several functions including reservation of constituencies, constitution of Sikh Gurdwara Election Tribunal and notification to bring Gurdwaras within the provisions of Section 85 of the 1925 Act,” the petition said. I said. -PTI
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