HC quashes govt notification nominating 4 Nanded gurdwara board members

Aurangabad:

Aurangabad

bench of the Bombay high court on Thursday quashed and set aside a state government notification recommending four board members’ nomination to the Nanded Gurdwara Board.

The

HC

bench, comprising Justices S V Gangapurwala and Shrikant d (is this a typo??) Kulkarni, dubbed the government notification arbitrary, and observed: “Arbitrariness has no role in the society governed by rule of law. Arbitrariness is antithesis to the rule of law, justice, equity, fair play and good conscience. The arbitrary action cannot withstand to test of law.”

Sardar Manjieeth Singh Jagan Singh, currently a resident of Hyderabad, had challenged the notification (dated 21.06.2019) issued by the state through lawyers Ganesh A Gandhe and S Jasbir Singh. Through the notification, the government nominated “members on Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Shree Hazur Apchalnagar Sahib Board from Sachkhand Hazuri Khalsa Diwan, Nanded, a trust, U/Sec. 6(1)(viii) of the Nanded Sikh Gurdwara Sachkhand Shri Hazur Apchalnagar Sahib Act, 1956.”

The high court has stayed its own order for three weeks following request from the lawyers representing the four respondents (the board members) whose nomination it had quashed and set aside. The court observed: “Considering the fact that the respondent Nos. 4 to 7 were occupying the post and by virtue of the present order they are unsettled, we grant stay to the present judgment for a period of three weeks from today. Needless to state on lapse of three weeks, present protection shall come to an end.’’

The four respondents whose nomination was quashed include Sardar Gurucharan Singh Ghadisaj, Sardar Sardul Singh Fauji, Sardar Bahginder Singh and Sardar Jagwir Singh Shahu.

The petitioner argued that “As per the Act, the trust (Diwan) had to nominate four members from among its members to the gurdwara board. The impugned notification is contrary to Section 6(1)(viii) of the Act 1956. The general committee has powers to nominate members to the board. The government cannot finalize the names on its own or on the basis of proposal received by different persons claiming their position in Diwan as members of the executive committee.” It said, “As per Sec. 6(1) (viii) of the Act 1956 and Sec. 4 of the bye-laws of the Diwan, only the general committee of the Diwan can nominate four persons on gurdwara board. The general committee is empowered to take policy decision and executive committee is not vested with such powers. The general committee of the Diwan has not passed any resolution nominating persons for appointment over the gurdwara board from Diwan.”


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