De-registration of SAD: 85-year-old files plea for expeditious disposal of petition

JALANDHAR: In the case pending in the Delhi high court seeking directions to Election Commission of India (ECI) to set aside the registration of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) as a political party, an application for expeditious disposal has been submitted on the ground that petitioner Balwant Singh Khera is already in his mid-eighties and is not in the best of his health.
The application has sought expeditious disposal of this “very important matter”, during Khera’s life-time as his health has been deteriorating. Alleging that respondent no. 2 (SAD) continues to exploit religion in politics, the application has also pointed out that elections to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) are due in three months in January 2021 and Akali Dal can continue to exploit religion in politics in these elections as well, “unless the instant matter is heard and adjudicated upon within time”.
The application has mentioned that through an earlier order on February 19, 2019 the court had allowed the petition for expeditious hearing of the matter and listed it for hearing April 3, 2019 in light of two petitioners being Senior Citizens so that the matter could be heard in their life-time. “But thereafter, the matter was adjourned repeatedly and over the last 6 months, in light of Covid-19. Now, the impending elections to R6 (DSGMC) in three months, have resulted in a fresh and additional reason for urgency of hearing,” reads the application submitted by advocate Indira Unninayar, adding that urgent consideration of the matter is in larger public interest.
Khera, a social worker and political activist who also remained chairman of Malta Boat Tragedy Probe Mission has been pursuing the issue since 2004, first with ECI and then in 2010 he filed PIL in Delhi High Court. Following an advice by the court a fresh and consolidated petition was filed in 2018 and pleadings are complete in the case. Later another social worker Om Singh Satiana also joined him in the petition.
The petition seeks directions to Election Commission of India (ECI) to set aside the registration of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) as a Political Party and to quash the notification of ‘merger’ of the two parties Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal).
The petitioner's case is that the SAD’s registration was obtained based on a fraudulent undertaking of secularism given to ECI by SAD. Their petition stated that the SAD doctored a document that it labelled its “Rules and Regulations” in order to project that it was complying with S29A of the RP Act which mandates undertaking of secularism to be registered as a political party. At the same time, the SAD uses its old constitution of 1974 which is a non-secular document in order to qualify as a religious party and contest elections to SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) and DSGMC (Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee) – the most powerful Sikh religious bodies in the country. Without that constitution, it stands disqualified to contest Sikh Gurdwara elections.
The petitioners have also challenged the ‘merger’ of SAD and SAD(Badal) in 1996.