Golden Temple head granthi now moves high court, fears he may be sacked; took on SAD as jathedar of Akal Takht
Chandigarh: Giani Raghbir Singh, whose dismissal as jathedar of the Akal Takht — the highest temporal authority in Sikhism — in March this year sparked widespread controversy and attracted a strong reaction from the
Sikh community
, has now approached the Punjab and Haryana high court.
He is apprehensive of his removal from the post of head granthi at the Golden Temple. According to him, he can be removed "to satisfy the affected individuals of the Dec 2024 verdict".
Raghbir Singh, who led the five high priests in declaring
Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal 'tankhaiya' on Aug 30, 2024, and then pronounced religious punishment on him and other SAD leaders on Dec 2, 2024, has also alleged that "he is at the receiving end of the political tussle within the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)".
"There is every apprehension that the petitioner will be terminated without affording him any opportunity and illegally, with gross malicious intent to satisfy the affected individuals of the Dec 2024 verdict. Earlier, the petitioner was removed from the post of jathedar, Sri Akal Takht, on March 7, 2025, and was appointed as head granthi (supreme priest) of Sachkhand Shri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, which is regarded as the epitome of Sikhism.
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The petitioner seeks the indulgence of this court (HC) to protect the sanctity of the post occupied by the petitioner, who is at the receiving end of the political tussle inside the SGPC," his petition has stated.
While the counsel for Raghbir Singh, advocate Naveen Sharma, refused to share further information about the petition, he confirmed that the petition was expected to come up for hearing on Tuesday.
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