Union Cabinet approved Sikh Gurudwara’s Act

The Union Cabinet approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs to amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 through the Parliament with effect from 8 October 2013

Flash points

• The proposal gave green signal to remove the exception given to Sehajdhari Sikhs in 1944 to vote in the elections for selecting members of the board and the committees constituted under the Act
• The Sehajdhari Sikhs were continuously exercising their voting rights in the SGPC elections since 1949
• In 2003, the Union Home Ministry debarred the Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting by amending the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925
• It was done through a notification dated 8 October 2003
• The notification came as a result of the powers conferred by Parliament under Section 72 of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, 1966
• The notification was nullified by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 20 December 2011
• The final decision was left to the legislation to decide whether to amend the Act or not