Court directs status quo on control of Sikh temples in Haryana, ruling on August 25
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the newly-constituted Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) to maintain status quo as on Thursday with regard to management and takeover of gurdwaras in Haryana.
The two groups were engaged in violent clashes on Tuesday after supporters of HSGPC forcibly took possession of the historic Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi at Kurukshetra. Although the Haryana Government assured the court that despite tension the situation was under control, the Union Home Ministry produced Intelligence inputs apprehending similar takeover of four more Sikh shrines.
The Haryana Government too submitted a report to the court indicating that the HSGPC till Thursday had wrested control of six gurdwaras out of 52 in the State.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice RM lodha said: “In this situation, do you think they (SGPC) will hand you the management of the gurdwaras on a platter.”
The court was hearing a petition by one Harbhajan Singh, an elected representative of the SGPC in Kurukshetra who challenged the validity of the law, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act 2014, by which HSGPC was given authority to control all gurdwaras falling in the State.
The Bench, also comprising Justices Madan B lokur and Kurian Joseph, said: “We accordingly restrain SGPC and HSGPC to maintain status quo with regard to subject gurdwaras in the State as on 2.30 pm on Thursday, on all aspects.”
It directed the State Director-General of Police to ensure law and order was not disturbed. It posted the petition for hearing on August 25, by which time it expected tempers to cool and counsels of the two warring factions to come to an agreement. The court also asked SGPC to create a separate bank account to deposit all earnings and gifts received by gurdwaras managed by it in Haryana.
The challenge against the Haryana Act was led by senior advocate Harish Salve who claimed that SGPC was an inter-State corporation created under the Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act 1925. Being a pre-Independence law, the Centre had the sole authority to legislate and Haryana could not by itself have created a separate body to govern gurdwaras in its territory.
The Centre openly backed the petition by declaring the Haryana Act to be ultra vires the Constitution. Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi informed the court that the State law was enacted under the provision of law on which only the Centre had the capacity to act.
He was referring to Entry 32 of State list which derived its power from Entry 44 of the Union list.
The SC took up the matter again post-lunch when it confronted both Haryana Government and SGPC with the issue.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran for Haryana said that he had material to show that Haryana had the legislative competence to pass the law similar to other States which too had their own bodies to manage Sikh shrines.
The Haryana Act provided three schedules that listed the 52 gurdwaras under Schedule 1 - historical (8), Schedule 2 - those with annual income over Rs 20 lakh (17), and Schedule 3 - those having annual income less than Rs 20 lakh (27). The classification based on earnings even amused the bench that remarked: “The fight seems to be between Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 gurdwaras.”