GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 21st Sept. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the ‘Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014’, under which a separate committee was established to oversee the affairs of gurdwaras in the state.
A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath dismissed a petition filed by a Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee member seeking the repeal of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act.
The Supreme Court issued its decision in response to a 2014 petition filed by Harbhajan Singh, a Haryana resident, who claimed that Section 72 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 states that the power to make law in respect of the SGPC as an inter-state body corporate has been reserved with the Central Government only and that there is no provision in law for any bifurcation by enacting State legislation.
According to the petition, the hasty enactment not only violates the constitutional and statutory provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, but it is also divisive in its intent to sow discord among Sikhs.
“Under the law, Haryana cannot legislate in respect of a subject where the field is already occupied by central legislation as the subject of religious institutions correlates to Entry 28 List III. The strict provisions with regard to interstate body corporate under the law have not been complied with.
“It is important to note that mandate with regard to several actions including reservation of constituencies, constitution of Sikh Gurdwara Elections Tribunal and notification of gurdwaras for bringing them within the provisions of Section 85 of the 1925 Act have been done by the Central Government,” the petition had said.
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