Haryana act on gurdwaras void without Centre’s nod: Attorney general

NEW DELHI: The Centre has concurred with the stand taken by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in the Supreme Court where the latter has challenged the validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act enacted by the state for control of Sikh shrines in Haryana.

The home ministry will file an affidavit in the apex court on the next date of hearing of the case (August 25) citing an opinion given by the attorney general (AG) stating that the formulation of a separate Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act by the state was void.

Sources said the AG, in his opinion to the home ministry, has said that the SGPC derives its powers from the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 which is a Central Act and thus changes by any state has to be first referred to the Centre. The law ministry has asked the home ministry to present the AG's opinion as an affidavit and submit it in the apex court on the next date of hearing.

The AG's opinion came on a question raised by the home ministry whether Haryana was competent to pass a law on the management control of gurdwaras in the state. The AG has said all gurdwaras should be governed under the Central Act and formulation of a separate Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act was void.

The SGPC is controlled by the Shiromani Akali Dal, the ruling party in Punjab and an ally of the NDA government at the Centre. The SGPC has administrative control over gurdwaras across the country till Haryana brought in this new law providing for a separate committee.

In an interim order passed on August 7, the apex court had directed the SGPC and the newly formed Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) to maintain status quo on the control of gurdwaras in the state. The apex court is examining the constitutional validity of the HSGMC Act, 2014 passed by Haryana to manage gurdwaras in the state. The SC in its order has also asked the SGPC and the HSGPC to open separate bank accounts to deposit their income till the final orders.

Questioning the legislative competence of the state government over management control of gurdwaras, the petitioner, an elected SGPC member, had argued in the apex court that Haryana's new law was "ultra vires and illegal" since it was enacted without the concurrence of the Centre.