Akal Takht holds Sukhbir Singh Badal guilty of religious misconduct, directs him to clean utensils at Golden Temple
The Akal Takht, the supreme temporal body of the Sikh community, has pronounced its verdict on former Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh read out the verdict in Amritsar on Monday in the presence of the Panj Piyaare (five high priests). Badal was declared ‘tankhahiya’ or guilty of religious misconduct in August. He had urged the Akal Takht, also known as the Supreme Court of the Sikhs, to pronounce the verdict as soon as possible.
The Jathedar asked the former Deputy CM of Punjab to sit wearing a sevadar’s robes in front of various gurudwaras across the state, wearing a special plaque for two days each. These gurdwaras are Shri Harimandar Sahib (Golden Temple), Takht Shri Keshgarh Sahib, Takht Shri Damdama Sahib, Darbar Sahib (Muktsar) and Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib.
“The time for sitting in front of the gurudwaras will be 9 am to 10 am. After spending the hour, they will have to go into the langar hall to clean utensils as penance for an hour,” the Jathedar said.
Giani Raghbir Singh also pronounced senior leaders like Bibi Jagir Kaur, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Surjit Singh, Bikramjeet Singh Majithia, BJP leader Sohan Singh Thandal, along with Mahesh Inder Singh, Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon, among others, guilty. They have been instructed to clean the toilets in the Golden Temple complex on Tuesday.
The Akal Takht head also rescinded the Fakhar-e-Kaum (Pride of the Community) award given to Late Prakash Singh Badal, the former Chief Minister of Punjab, for pardoning Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim during his term.
The significance of the verdict in Punjab politics
The verdict comes as the culmination of uncertainty regarding the future of the Shiromani Akali Dal and its leadership. The leaders were found guilty of taking ‘wrong decision’ during the period of 2007 to 2017, when the party was in power in the state. The period was marred by sacrilege incidents among other things that brought the Akal Takht in action.
Since him being declared guilty, SAD did not contest the November 20 bypolls on 4 assembly seats in the state, due to Akal Takht’s ban on Sukhbir Badal’s campaign. Badal even resigned as the party Chief last month.
The Jathedar has urged the rebel group of the Akali Dal to join back and work for the party and the state. He has also instructed the party to conduct a membership drive and elections for its office bearers within a period of six months.