The general house of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Saturday revoked the membership of three past presidents, including Paramjit Singh Sarna, Harvinder Singh Sarna and Manjit Singh GK, over charges of misappropriation of gurdwara funds and breach of trust.
According to DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka, the decision was taken after thorough consideration of long-pending complaints and in accordance with the directions received from the director, Gurdwara Elections, and the Delhi government.
He said a detailed report was sent to all 50 living House members out of the total 51. Among them, 17 submitted written recommendations demanding strict action against the trio.
Consequently, a special session was convened on Saturday to deliberate on the matter. “The accused members were given an opportunity to present their defence. However, they chose not to appear, forcing the committee to take this decision,” added Kalka.
The House unanimously passed a resolution to revoke the membership of the three former presidents with immediate effect, and decided to forward the resolution to the Delhi government in accordance with the Act governing the working of the DSGMC.
“This decision is not directed against any individual, but is taken to uphold the sanctity and moral integrity of Sikh religious institutions. The treasures of the Guru’s golak (donation box) are the community’s sacred trust, and anyone who breaches that trust will face both legal and moral consequences,” said Kalka.
‘No moral right to remove elected members’
Reacting to the development, GK said, “They do not have the moral right to remove any elected member. The president of the gurdwara body is saying he is under pressure from the government to take such action. This is not the first time the gurdwara committee has indulged in a misadventure against me, but it never held any ground.”
Paramjit Singh Sarna, who is also the president of the Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal, termed the decision meaningless, particularly when Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami had directed against conduct of any such meeting.
He said the DSGMC president had also refused to accept the direction of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, asking the body to hold the meeting after the commemorative events to mark the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur, which falls on November 25.
“When Sikhs are commemorating the 350th martyrdom day and New Delhi is the centre of all such events, such action will disturb Panthic unity,” the Akal Takht edict had said.
