Patna Sikh Body towards Supreme Court for Management Committee Polls

On 1 Jun, a meeting of the Sikhs took place at Patna. They decided to form a seven-member body – Patna Sahib Panth Sewak Jatha (PSPSJ). Charanjeet Singh, a former general secretary of the Takht Patna Sahib Parbandhak Committee, will lead the jatha (group). PSPSJ's mandate is to seek elections to the Takht Patna Sahib Parbandhak Committee, whose term ended in July 2023. A PSPSJ statement said it would uphold the constitution of Takht Patna Sahib and decided to ‘approach the Supreme Court to ensure immediate elections to the committee.’ Takht Patna Sahib’s leadership has been in crisis for a while now. For a long time, Giani Iqbal Singh was the Jathedar (2000-2019). Charges of polygamy were raised against him and he was dismissed from his position. In 2022, he was declared Tankhaiya (guilty of religious misconduct). After him, Giani Rajinder Singh lasted a mere six months and Giani Ranjit Singh Gauhar-e-Maskeen was made the Jathedar but was also suspended in September 2022 due to allegations of attempts to establish supremacy in connivance with members of the management board. In December 2022, then-acting Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh appointed Giani Baldev Singh as the Takht Patna Sahib Jathedar, but this decision was objected to because he was supposedly not proficient in recitation of panj bani (five core compositions). The existing board members were allowed to continue till 15 Jan 2023, until the next elections, which have been delayed. This internal fracas at the Takht Patna Sahib was exploited by PM Narendra Modi who appeared in Patna, Bihar, in a Sikh turban to canvas for votes in recent elections (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 21 Story 2).