Giani Raghbir Singh withdraws plea from high court
In a statement, Giani Raghbir Singh said that despite unexpected incidents during his service, he consistently upheld Panthic traditions and the 'Rehat Maryada' (Sikh code of religious conduct). He asserted he never intended to harm Panthic institutions.
He expressed gratitude to the global Sikh community for their concern following the court filing. He stated his decision to withdraw the case was made out of respect for the community's feelings.
Giani Raghbir Singh's initial decision to file the case drew censure from several Sikh leaders. Paramjit Singh Sarna, former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, objected to the former head of a spiritual court approaching a "materialistic court". Sarna stated that this action "diminished not only the dignity of the position but also his own stature".
Sarna urged Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami to address the matter promptly.
He suggested that since Giani Raghbir Singh "chose to stand in the dock of a court, he should be relieved of religious duties at once and reassigned to administrative work according to service rules".
Kulwant Singh Mannan, SGPC's chief secretary, also expressed deep disappointment. He highlighted that historically, no Akal Takht jathedar has sought recourse in a "materialistic court", noting that their stature is considered higher, even to the extent of rejecting summons.
MSID:: 122159256 413 |
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Print
8 hours ago
- The Print
Does Nikhil Gupta have a son in Pakistan? Court papers add fresh twist to Pannun assassination plot
This, however, is contested by Gupta's family, who describe it as a 'deliberate error' introduced during translation by a Hindi-speaking interpreter from Pakistan, assisting the Czech authorities. They allege that Gupta was 'misquoted' and it is 'defamatory'. Gupta's statement—'I request the court inform my son in India and my son in Pakistan and the Indian Embassy in Prague about my remand in custody'—is part of Exhibit 19B from his detention hearings at the Municipal Court in Prague on 30 June and 1 July 2023, prior to his extradition. The document has now been unsealed and has been accessed by ThePrint. New Delhi: In a surprising revelation, Nikhil Gupta—the Indian citizen at the centre of the foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US—had asked Czech authorities to inform his 'son in Pakistan' about his detention in Prague during his extradition proceedings to the US. 'This isn't just a mistake. It was intentional. He has been misquoted. The interpreter was a Hindi-speaking individual from Pakistan. While a typographical error is possible, in this case, it appears to have been deliberate. He was misquoted. Moreover, Gupta has never visited Pakistan in his entire life. We even submitted his full travel history to the Czech authorities, but no one listened to us,' a source close to the family told ThePrint over the phone. The said document 'minutes of the detention hearing', submitted in the United States Southern district New York court, by his government-appointed counsel Nolla B Heller, a partner at Milbank LLP, includes the Czech police's petition for remand for custody of Gupta after his detention in Prague and the subsequent hearing of the detention session in the Municipal Court. Exhibit 19B is the English translation of Exhibit 19A. Gupta is also quoted as mentioning that he had a stomach problem and didn't have medicines for it. This session on 1 July 2023 ended at 2:36 pm with a custody order and this was signed by the Presiding Judge of the Senate, Jana Miklova. The document with the reference to Pakistan, is part of the exhibit attachments filed by Heller, in support of Gupta's motion to suppress certain statements and evidence, and to dismiss Count Three of the second Superseding Indictment, which refers to the conspiracy of money laundering allegedly committed by Gupta. Gupta's family has in the past argued that his arrest was a case of 'mistaken identity'. In a habeas corpus petition filed in the Supreme Court in December 2023, Gupta's family said he is 'aggrieved by the blatant negligence and omission' by Indian Embassy officials as he had received a 'cold response' from Indian embassy officials in the Czech Republic. The family alleged that he was under duress to confess to the allegations and the defence attorney provided to him by the Czech authorities pressured him to give his consent to extradition. According to the petition, the allegation mentioned in the indictment, based on which he was detained, is against 'Nick', which was not Gupta's name and hence it was a 'case of mistaken identity'. But Nikhil Gupta is also referred to as 'Nick' in the US DOJ indictments. He was arrested in Prague on 30 June, 2023, and extradited to the US on June 14, 2024. He is currently awaiting trial in a Brooklyn prison. Both Gupta and former R&AW officer Vikash Yadav have been accused of being part of a conspiracy to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who enjoys dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Additionally, the US prosecutors have also accused Gupta of money laundering in the superseding indictment. ThePrint reached out to Gupta's counsels Heller and Matthew Laroche through email to ask about his statement mentioning a son in Pakistan, but no response was received. ThePrint has also reached out to his former Czech counsel Petr Slevicka via emails, calls and emails. Also read: Pannun murder plot: Govt panel recommends legal action against 'individual with criminal links' 'A Pakistani passport, an error' One of the newly unsealed documents also mentions a 'Pakistani passport' for Gupta. However, in subsequent documents, he is referred to as a citizen of the Republic of India, with his Delhi address mentioned in the details. In the now unsealed documents, Exhibit 1, which contains a copy of the provisional arrest warrant for Gupta issued by the United States and sent to the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic, Gupta's place of birth and citizenship are listed as 'India'. However, under passport numbers, two entries appear: One for India and another, but it is illegible. In subsequent exhibits it is noted that the Prague court questioned the US about discrepancies in the passport number provided for Gupta and the US responded saying it was an 'unintentional error'. This too was described by the family source quoted above as having been 'done deliberately'. 'We cited this while fighting his extradition in the Czech Republic. The US had no details about him except for one photo from 2017, when he had visited the US. They didn't have any concrete information. All the details were gathered after his arrest. They mentioned two passports. In fact, they even got the Indian passport number wrong. His passport, newly issued at the time, was from March 2023. The US has been contradicting its own claims since the beginning,' the family source said. 'That was the first time he traveled using that passport. So initially, they submitted incorrect passport numbers, and even the date of issuance was wrong. But whenever we raised concerns, the US claimed everything was just a mistake, and the Czech authorities accepted it all, likely due to external pressure. How can he have a Pakistani passport when he is an Indian national? And this inconsistency has been there from the very beginning. There were numerous errors, all of which were overlooked. This is also why we have repeatedly stated that it is a case of mistaken identity,' the source added. The documents state that the letter 'B' at the end of the passport number was changed to an '8', and that the US had provided a different passport issue date than the one found on Gupta during his detention. The court document mentions that the United States had informed the Czech court that it was an 'unintentional error'. However, it doesn't specify which passport this 'error' pertains to. The Czech court noted that it was aware that the US had provided a 'wrong ending and date of issue corresponding to the different personal document' of Gupta, but the error was clarified with additional information and explanation. 'The US party unambiguously confirmed by which passport the requested (Gupta) provided his identity when crossing the border in the US in 2017,' the unsealed document mentions. The court further adds that the information about his alleged Pakistani passport was provided by the US only in the 'very beginning of the process' and was not mentioned during the further course of proceedings in the extradition materials and that the US has addressed him as a citizen of India. 'The court doesn't exclude that in the past the requested (Gupta) could be a holder of Pakistani passport. Nevertheless, with regard to the above facts and unambiguous identification of the requested, the court doesn't consider this information relevant for evaluation of the identity of the requested (Gupta) or even as the information implying doubts about his identity,' the court document mentions. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Pressured to plead guilty in Pannun case, says Nikhil Gupta from US prison, recalls '20 days in cage'
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
1.7 tonnes ‘beef' seized, 178 eateries & slaughterhouses raided, 196 arrested
Guwahati: Police have seized more than 1.7 tonnes of suspected beef during raids on hotels, restaurants, and slaughterhouses, and detained 196 people for violating the govt's prohibition on the beef public service and consumption in public spaces. The crackdown has been underway across the state since Tuesday. The enforcement was carried out under the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, which restricts cattle slaughter and beef sales in regions predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jain, and Sikh communities, as well as within a 5-km radius of temples or satras. To reinforce this law, the state cabinet last year banned the serving of beef in any restaurant, hotel, public function, or public place. Inspector general of police (law and order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh told PTI that authorities launched a statewide operation on Tuesday to investigate reported cases of unlawful cattle slaughter and unauthorised beef sales in restaurants. Police said raids were carried out across 178 hotels, restaurants, and slaughterhouses in various districts of Assam over two days. The crackdown has come after chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma raised concern last month over illegal cattle slaughter during Eid celebrations in the state. On June 20, Sarma emphasised strict enforcement of the Act across all districts to prevent the availability and consumption of beef near religious sites.
Scroll.in
a day ago
- Scroll.in
Assam: 132 persons apprehended for alleged illegal cattle slaughter, unauthorised sale of beef
The Assam Police apprehended 132 persons under the state's Cattle Preservation Act on Tuesday for alleged illegal cattle slaughter and unauthorised sale of beef in eateries. A total of 112 eateries were searched during the day and 1,084 kg of meat, which the police suspect is beef, was seized, Assam Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Akhilesh Kumar Singh told Scroll. While consumption of beef is not illegal in the state, the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, bans its slaughter and sale in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindu, Jain and Sikh communities or in areas that fall within a 5 km radius of a temple or satra (Vaishnavite monastery), or other religious institutions belonging to Hindu religion or any other institution or area as 'may be prescribed by the competent authority'. It also places tight restrictions on cattle transportation. On Tuesday, a suo-motu drive was initiated in the state to check reported incidents of illegal cattle slaughter and sale of beef in restaurants without authorisation, PTI quoted Kumar as saying. 'The main intention of the drive is to stop violation of the Assam Cattle Preservation Act,' Kumar told the news agency. In December, public consumption of beef, including at restaurants and community gatherings, was banned by the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state. A legislation or legislative amendment to this end has not been passed yet. The crackdown on Tuesday came against the backdrop of more than 150 persons being arrested in Dhubri after animal remains alleged to be of a cow were recovered near a Hindu temple, The Indian Express reported.
