Apart from political wranglings, financial bungling, and visionless working at Takht Patna Sahib, over the last four decades, the recent nomination of 3 members by District Judge Patna Shri Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, even before the elections to the Prabandhak Committee is announced, takes the cake. What is even worse is that neither the President nor office bearer nor member of the Prabandhak Committee has expressed opposition or public outrage at this direct illegal and malafide intervention by the District Judge.

DEEPLY UNSETTLED BY THIS, WSN editor Jagmohan Singh writes an Open Letter to Jagjot Singh, President, Prabandhak Committee, Sri Takht Harimandir Ji, Patna Sahib.

Dear Jagjot Singh Ji,

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa!
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!!

YOUR SILENCE at the gross intervention by District Judge Patna in the religious affairs and management of Takht Patna Sahib is deeply disturbing. It is unthinkable that for any election, a nomination can take place before the election. To date, the Bihar State Election Authority has not even announced elections, but without caring for the sentiments of the Sikh Sangat and bothering about due process, you seem to have accepted the nomination of three members by the District Judge Patna, announced on 17 June 2023 and communicated to you in due course.

The order of the district judge refers to Article 9 (1) (a) of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Takht Saheb Committee under which 3 members, namely Ranjeet Singh son of Late S. Gurcharan Singh, Ranjit Singh son of S. Satnam Singh and Guvindar Singh son of Late S. Trilochan Singh -all residents of Patna.

The game plan is clear. The actions of District Judge Patna are directly aimed at influencing the election by voters and Gurdwara bodies and nominations by organizations. The key question is under whose influence and favouring whom?

Section 9 (1) (a) simply says, “Three members nominated by the District Judge, Patna.” This does not devolve any powers on you to nominate three members prior to the election process.

Section 9 (5) reads, “The District Judge, Patna in due course, shall declare the appointment of fourteen nominated or elected members of the New Committee, if the nomination or election is not any way unlawful and shall inform the same to the existing Committee in writing.” From this, it is evident that this provision is in the case of the Constitution of a new Committee after the election process is complete.

What bothers and pains me is that your committee and you have not seen through the act of District Judge Patna, which is clearly directed toward influencing the selection of candidates or nominations by other bodies.

I think one of the main reasons for your silence is that you realize that your very appointment was unlawful, because, the meeting at which you were elected on 31 December 2022 was not meant for the election of the President and other members of the Board. Another shocking thing at the said meeting was that due to the vacillation in appointing new nominees, for whatever reasons, by the District Judge Patna, sadly there were only seven members present from amongst whom, you were elected as the President.

Arguably, the Constitution and Bylaws of The Prabandhak Committee, Sri Takht Harimandir Ji Patna Saheb, birthed in the hallowed halls of yore, by the then well-meaning Sikh leadership, have many lacunae and shortcomings. Still, it does not go as far as the District Judge Patna has taken and you have willy-nilly endorsed his move by silence.

Whatever happens in the near future, whether elections are held or not, this unprecedented action carried out by the District Judge during your tenure, of which there is no parallel since the formation of the Committee in 1956, will go down as one of the many serious lapses for which you will be held exclusively accountable.

What perplexes me is that I have learned that your team and coterie are engaged in silencing those in Patna who are opposed to this among one of the many misadventures of District Judge Patna. It is the curious case of elections that were due but nowhere to be found!  I am sure that you are aware that waiting for clarity from the District Judge Patna, the Bihar State Election Authority is twiddling its thumbs in perplexity, waiting for the curtain to rise about the status and period when the new three nominees become eligible to participate and vote in meetings and the District Judge is now sitting on it. As there is no provision or precedent they are simply surprised at the move.

In the same vein, it may be recorded that while the District Judge has sent his notification to the Prabandhak Committee in rather innocuous terms and so far he has not clarified the matter to the Bihar State Election Authority.

Jagjot Singh Ji, please do not take the Sikh Sangat for granted. Sikhs will respect you if you get this historic wrong corrected. It will pave the way for doing away with the absolutely unnecessary, uncalled-for “gift” given by the Sikhs, allowing the District Judge to nominate as many as three of the fifteen-member board, without even having a collegium to choose from and without testing whether they fulfill all the requirements for nomination.

While your silence may help you politically in the short run, history will not forgive you if you do not act on the matter.

Sincerely perplexed and angry,

Jagmohan Singh
Editor, The World Sikh News