Ayodhya verdict: PIL filed in SC against ‘Sikh cult’ reference

AMRITSAR: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court for terming Sikh religion “cult” and references to Guru Nanak in the Apex court’s Ayodhya verdict.

The petition has been filed by noted Sikh scholar Anurag Singh through his lawyer Neena Singh.

“The petition was filed on November 18 and was approved by the apex court recently. We have sought deletion of the term ‘cult’ and references of the first Sikh master which were given in the judgment as evidences,” said the petitioner while speaking to HT over phone.

In the PIL, it is stated that terming the religion as “cult” amounts to sacrilege. The petitioner also states that the references do not give any clue of exact location of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Senior Delhi high court lawyer HS Phoolka on November 14 had also written a letter to the Akal Takht and urged it to direct the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to take legal measures to ensure removal of the word “cult”, which according to him is not fit for the Sikh religion.

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) had on Friday formed a panel of senior lawyers to analyse the content of the judgment in the light of Sikh tenets. Besides Phoolka, former Supreme Court Bar Association president R S Suri and senior advocate A P S Ahluwalia have also been included in the DSGMSC panel.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has also passed a resolution against the judgment in this context during its general house meeting held in last week of November.