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The court was hearing a petition filed by one Satinder Singh who stated that the Sikh Gurdwaras and Religious Endowment Act and the rules framed provide that the Board is a single constituent body and its members 15 in total can be elected by a single process both at Kashmir and Jammu divisions simultaneously and not otherwise.
The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court recently stayed the implementation of a notification issued by the Divisional Commissioner of Jammu regarding the holding of elections of the Gurdwara Parbandhak Board for the Jammu and Kashmir divisions.
The single judge bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal while hearing a petition filed by one Satinder Singh stated that the Sikh Gurdwaras and Religious Endowment Act and the rules framed provide that the Board is a single constituent body and its members- 15 in total can be elected by a single process both at Kashmir and Jammu divisions simultaneously and not otherwise.
The applicant Satinder Singh told the court that a similar challenge had been filed before the Srinagar Wing of the court in a writ petition. The Coordinate Bench of Srinagar Wing, in response to this, had awarded status quo in respect of the holding of the elections for different reasons.
According to the applicant, when the Srinagar Wing issued the status quo order, the election procedure for both the Kashmir and Jammu Divisions, as mentioned in the notices issued by the respective Returning Officers on January 28, 2023, was postponed.
The petitioner further argued that the election process should be conducted jointly for both divisions rather than separately, citing Section 3 of the Sikh Gurdwaras and Religious Endowment Act, 1973, which outlines the composition and constitution of the Board, which consists of fifteen members, eight from Jammu Division and seven from Kashmir Division.
The petitioner also cited Section 8 of the Act, which outlines the composition of Board members, including the President and other office bearers, and the procedure for their election in a General Meeting. He contended that because the election process is already being adjudicated in two writ petitions, one of which is before the High Court, the Divisional Commissioner of Jammu should not have issued the impugned notification dated May 09, 2023, for conducting elections.
According to the petitioner, this breaches the provisions of the Sikh Gurdwaras and Religious Endowment Act and the rules enacted under it.
After hearing the arguments, Justice Nargal stated that: “The Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, issued the Notification dated May 09, 2023, illegally by directing that elections be held only in Jammu Division, despite the fact that the Sikh Gurdwaras and Religious Endowment Act, 1973 and the rules framed thereunder provide that the Board is a single constituent body and its members, i.e., fifteen in total, can be elected by a single process both at Kashmir and Jammu Divisions simultaneously and not otherwise.
Accordingly, a prima facie case for indulgence is made out, said the court while staying the functioning of the impugned notification until the next hearing.
The matter is listed on May 26, 2023 for further hearing.
Case Title: Satinder Singh Vs UT of J&K
Statue: Sikh Gurdwaras and Religious Endowment Act, 1973
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