SC declines PIL to delink Sikhs from Hindu law

The Supreme Court declined to pass any order on a plea that the Sikh Community is different from Hindus.

The Supreme Court today declined to pass any order on a plea that the Sikh Community,which gets the birth certificate under the Hindu law,faces an uphill task to explain immigration authorities across the globe that the community is different from Hindus.

It is very difficult to convince the people abroad,especially the immigaration authorities,that though they are given birth certificate under Hindu Marriage Act,they are Sikh by religion, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan.

He was appearing for a Sikh who filed a PIL seeking suitable amendment in the Constitution to declare the community out of the purview of the Act.

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The Bench,also comprising,Justices R V Raveendran and Deepak Verma,said though it was in agreement with the issues raised in the petition,it cannot entertain the subject as it has to be looked into by the appropriate authority in government.

We know it is very difficult to convince but we cannot pass any direction, it said.

Rohatgi said the PIL was preferred before the apex court as there was no response after the community ran from pillar to post to convince the authorities.

The PIL,filed by Joginder Singh Sethi,sought a direction for amendment in Article 25 of the Constitution for implementing the recommendation of a Commission headed by Justice M N Venkatachaliah to delink Buddhism,Jainism and Sikhism from the Hindu Marriage Act.

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The petitioner had pointed out that though Sikhs were under the ambit of the Hindu Marriage Act,the rituals for performance of marrigae were different from those of Hindus.

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