Court questions construction of parking at Gurdwara Rakabganj

The Delhi High Court has asked the New Delhi Municipal Council to explain how the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) is building a multi-level underground parking lot at a cost of Rs.400 crore inside Gurdwara Rakabganj in the New Delhi area without mandatory permissions as the shrine is a notified Grade III heritage building.

Justice Vipin Sanghi asked the NDMC to file a status report on the alleged construction of the parking facility without taking mandatory permissions from different government agencies concerned by March 22, the next date of hearing.

The Court asked for the explanation on a petition by the Sikh Forum for Service and Justice challenging construction of the parking facility.

The construction of parking lot is going since the laying of the foundation stone by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last year.

The petitioner, G.S. Oberoi, president of the Forum, through his counsel Avtar Singh submitted in a fresh application that he had obtained information through RTI route that the DSGMC had sought no permission from the Heritage Conservation Committee to build the parking.

The petitioner further said that in a reply to a RTI application, the local body said that the Gurdwara Management had submitted a proposal to build the parking but it was rejected.

with thanks : The Hindu : link in the headline above for detailed news.

US court to hear 1984 anti-Sikh riots case

New York: A US court is set to hear on March 15 a plea for "default judgment" against India's Congress party for failing to defend charges of conspiring, aiding, abetting, organising anti-Sikh riots in November 1984. 

The case will be heard by Judge Robert W Sweet of the US Federal Court in New York, according to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based community organisation, which filed a motion before the Court on February 02 for such a judgement. 

The US court had issued summons to Congress party on March 01 last year asking it to file its answer within 21 days in the class action law suit filed under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). 

with thanks : Zee News : link in the headline above for detailed news.

SC setback for Sehejdharis: SGPC can elect office bearers

The Sehajdharis suffered a major setback on Friday after the Supreme Court stayed an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court wherein it had quashed a central government’s notification (in October, 2003) barring the Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) elections.

The apex court said that the SGPC, considered the Mini-Parliament of Sikhs, can carry out its functions normally. Days after the High Court judgment, the Sehajdhari Sikh Party (SSP) had demanded fresh SGPC elections stating that the Sehajdharis be allowed to cast their votes.

After the temporary relief from Supreme Court, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said that they would now wait for the Ministry of Home to issue a notification pertaining to the election of the office bearers of SGPC.

“We now look forward to Home Ministry to issue notification for the election of office bearers,” Makkar said.

The SC directions today paved the way for 185-member body to elect its 11 member executive body, besides the president, senior vice-president, vice-president and general secretary.

A question mark over the newly formed SGPC had arisen after the Punjab and Haryana High court had restored the voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs quashing the 2003 notification by the Union government that barred Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in SGPC polls.

with thanks : IndianExpress : link in the headline above for detailed news.

HC to hear next week plea on DSGMC polls

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today decided to hear next week the city government's plea against the single judge's order virtually staying the elections of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee due in March. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahi Endlaw fixed Tuesday to hear the appeal of Directorate of Gurudwara Elections (DGE) against the single judge's order asking it to complete the exercise of delimitation of area of 46 wards in a month and restraining it from issuing notification for the elections. Filing the petition through counsel Rajiv Nanda, the government said the single judge has no right to pass such order once the Directorate has declared the schedule for the polls. The lawyer also argued that the exercise for delimitation would take long time and that it could be done after the elections. Giving the order to the DGE on February 8, the court had also directed it to complete the exercise with regard to the electoral rolls within a month before issuing the notification for the Sikh body's polls. The court had passed the order on a petition filed by Harmohan Singh, who wanted to contest the elections, alleging that the Directorate has announced the schedule for the elections and the notification was yet to be issued. "The elections of DSGMC on the basis of incomplete list of voters and without delimitation of wards will cause unfair representation of the members from each ward," the petitioner said. He contended that number of duplicate voters have been mentioned and said non-Sikh persons also figured in the voters' list.

with thanks : IBNLive : link in the headline above.

Sant Samagam

13-year-old boy pens book on Sikh religion and tenets

A 13-year old Sikh boy from Surrey in Canada has penned down a book on Sikh tenets and Sikh religion, perhaps becoming the first writer of his age to write on the topic.

Introduction to Sikhism, the book in English by Bikramjit Singh Bains was released on Thursday by Akal Takht chief Giani Gurbachan Singh in Amritsar. The Akal Takht chief was all praise for the big initiative at a small age by the young writer. Bikramjit is the grandson of noted Encyclopaedist Dr Raghbir Singh Bains, who has to his credit writing the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism.

Bikramjit started work on his book when he was 10 on the occasion of Baisakhi in April, 2009. He got so inspired with the Sikh tenets as he researched for the contents that he got baptised (became an Amritdhari Sikh) in Surrey last year, amid carrying out the task of completing the book.

with thanks : Indian Express : link in the headline for detailed news.

Furnish details of 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims: MHA

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the state government to furnish details about victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots that broke out across the states following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The joint secretary of MHA, KK Pathak, shot a letter to the state government seeking information on the victims of the riots and whether compensation has been awarded to them. A senior state home department official said the letter was sent in connection to a question asked by a Rajya Sabha MP who wants to know the progress made in the “implementation of rehabilitation package to provide relief to the victims of riots.”

According to reports with the state disaster management department, West Bengal has recorded six deaths during the anti-Sikh riots and all of whom have been compensated. A total of 68 claims for compensation had been submitted to the state government of which 36 persons have received compensation from both the Centre and the state governments. The remaining applications have been turned down by the Centre, the official said.

with thanks : IndianExpress : link in headline above for detailed news.