Srinagar: The High Court Thursday asked the government to come out with appropriate notification to constitute a suitable GurduwaraPrabhandhak Committee within four weeks for running the day-to-day administration and management of Gurudwaras of Srinagar district.
“To run the day-to-day administration and management of Gurudwaras of Srinagar, the government should come out with an appropriate notification in terms of Rule 63-C of the Rules of 1975, constituting and nominating suitable GurduwaraPrabhandhak Committee within four weeks from today,” a bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar said.
“All functions under the Jammu and Kashmir Sikh Gurudwaras and Religious Endowment Act of 1973 and the rules framed there under should be performed by the committee till the atmosphere is congenial and the elections to the GurudwaraPrabhandhak Committee are held under the provisions of the act of 1973 and the rules framed thereunder,” the court said.
The court issued the direction while observing that the administration and management of Gurudwaras across J&K in particular in district Srinagar could not be kept in limbo.
“Therefore, a constitution and nomination of GurudwaraPrabhandhak Committee, Srinagar, is inevitable,” it said.
The court said that was advisable that if the committee to be constituted by the government comprises some independent persons having no affiliation with the rival factions litigating in the courts of law and such persons are persons of high integrity.
“The government would do well to appoint some retired District and Sessions Judge or an officer, serving or retired, of the rank of no less than an Additional District Magistrate to head the committee,” the court said.
It said that until such a committee is appointed by the government and it takes over the administration and management of the Gurudwaras of Srinagar, the present dispensation should continue.
However, the court asked the government to ensure that neither the petitioners of WP (C) 1762/2021 nor the petitioners of WP (C) 1931/2021 were nominated to the proposed Prabhandhak Committee.
Both these petitions related to the administration and management of Gurudwaras in J&K, in particular in district Srinagar as the elected Prabandhak Committee completed its tenure and there is no possibility of elections to that committee being held in the recent future.