AVTAR SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by an amritdhari Sikh, who is a resident of Village Cheema Tehsil Sunam, District Sangrur. He is allegedly a voter of the constituency of the Gurdwara known as Gurudara Sahib Nanaksar Cheema, which is mentioned in the schedule attached with the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925 [for short 'the Act'].

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that there are three categories of committee under the Act for the management of Gurdwara. The first category of the management is the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee [for short 'the SGPC'] which directly manages the Gurdwara as provided in Section 85 of the Act. The second category manages the Gurdwara in terms of Section 87(b) of the Act i.e. those Gurdwaras whose annual income exceeds Rs. 1 lac in which four elected members and one nominated member of the SGPC are the members and the election is held as per the provisions of the Act and Sikh Gurdwaras Committee Election Rules, 1959 [for short 'the Rules']. The third category of the management is of the Gurdwara whose annual income is less than Rs. 1 lac. The SGPC nominates the committee for the management under Section 87(a) of the Act and the State Government notifies the same under Section 88 of the Act.

(3.) The prayer made by the petitioner is for the issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus to direct the respondents to hold the elections of local committees for the management of Gurdwaras constituted under Sections 87(b) and 88 of the Act, situated in the State of Punjab, as those committees are the body corporate under Section 94-A of the Act, having a tenure of five years under Section 94 of the Act. The grievance of the petitioner is that the last elections were held in the year 2005 and were notified on 1.2.2006 but thereafter, elections have not been held.