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High Court tells DSGMC to get
its act together
WSN Network
NEW DELHI: The
Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management
Committee to convene its general body meeting within 15 days and
hold elections to the Executive Board within a month thereafter in
accordance with the DSGMC Act.
Justice Rekha
Sharma passed the directions on a suit by S. Malkinder Singh, one of
the members of the Committee.
Mr. Singh
submitted that members of the Executive Board were elected in
February 2007 for a one-year term. They were obliged to call an
annual general body meeting for holding elections to constitute a
new Board before the expiry of the existing Board’s tenure, the
plaintiff submitted. He stated that the Board had not only not
convened a general body meeting, it was making all possible excuses
to stonewall fresh elections.
The members of
the Executive Board in their defence submitted that they were
continuing in office beyond February 2008 when the elections were
due on the basis of an amendment to the DSGMC Act carried out by the
Delhi Government extending the term of the Board from one year to
two years.
For holding on
to the office beyond February 2009, the Executive Board members
submitted that the proviso to Section 16 (5) of the Act permits an
outgoing office-bearer or member to continue in office until his
successor is elected.
The Court,
however, dismissed their contentions.
Justice Sharma
also made caustic observations about the state of affairs in the
DSGMC, saying that “it has become a regular feature in gurdwaras in
the Capital that the faction in power makes every effort to hold on
to the office making a mockery of the provisions of the DSGMC Act”.
She concluded the judgment expressing the hope that “the gurdwaras
will heed their Gurus’ warning" about higher value system at
religious places.
29
April 2009
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