PC statement ‘unbelievable excuse’,Sehajdhari Sikh panel tells SC

The Supreme Court has listed the case for hearing on September 14 and asked the petitioner to serve copies to the respondents.

The petitioner (Sehajdhari Federation) has made the Union government,Punjab,Chief Commissioner of Gurdwara Elections and SGPC as respondents in the SLP.

Mincing no words,the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation has submitted in the SLP that the statement made by Chidambaram where he said that “the letter of appointment of Harbhagwan Singh was never sent”,is of no consequence and can have no bearing on the enforceability of statement made by Harbhagwan Singh.

The SLP further reads: “The reason given by the Home Minister that no power of attorney was given to Harbhagwan Singh is untenable and an unbelievable excuse that could be made to extricate the Union of India,which had none but itself to blame and had failed to rectify a patently incompetent notification”.

Contending that the stand taken by the Central government is most untenable,the Federation has stated: “It is most surprising that such a stand was sought to be founded upon the statements made by the Union Home Minister,which again appear to be wholly unfounded,since it is too well settled that senior counsel do not receive instructions from their client and the clients can only brief the advocate on record or junior counsel. In this case,the junior counsel appearing with the senior counsel,were themselves panel lawyers,who do not claim that they did not convey the instruction to the senior counsel (Harbhagwan Singh).”

The SLP added: “The sole purpose of flip flop of Union of India seems to be that it wants to stick by a patently illegal notification (dated October 8,2003,whereby Sehajdhari Sikhs were denied voting rights) for the second time in yet another election by any means.”

Submitting that the exercise by the Centre is “patently motivated by the political exigency of the situation”,the Federation has blamed the Union government for “sleeping over the matter” of SGPC elections for over seven years.

The petition filed by Sehajdhari Sikh Federation is pending since January 2002 in the high court. The Federation has contended in the SLP that in 2002,the high court had passed an order that the SGPC elections held in 2004 will be subject to the outcome of the petition. The Federation had subsequently challenged the notification dated October 8,2003,which denied voting rights to Sehajdhari Sikhs in SGPC elections.

“The right to vote was conferred on Sehajdhari Sikhs by way of an amendment of Sikh Gurdwara Act-1925. The right conferred by a state cannot be taken away by a mere notification of the government. The Union of India seems to have slept over the matter for more than seven years and not take decision with regard to notification on the eligibility of Sehajdhari Sikhs to be electors in the SGPC election under Sikh Gurdwara Act-1925,” the Federation stated.