122![While the government of Meghalaya wants to dislocate and throw out Sikh residents from the Punjabi lane area of Shillong, in yet another reprieve, the High Court at Meghalaya has refrained the Shillong Municipal Board from taking any action on the unlawful notice served on the poor Sikh residents through newspapers. Hearing the case of relocation (read dislocation) of poor Sikh residents, living in the Punjabi lane area of Shillong for more than two hundred years, the Meghalaya High Court […]](https://www.theworldsikhnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/shillong-high-court.jpg)
While the government of Meghalaya wants to dislocate and throw out Sikh residents from the Punjabi lane area of Shillong, in yet another reprieve, the High Court at Meghalaya has refrained the Shillong Municipal Board from taking any action on the unlawful notice served on the poor Sikh residents through newspapers.
Hearing the case of relocation (read dislocation) of poor Sikh residents, living in the Punjabi lane area of Shillong for more than two hundred years, the Meghalaya High Court has asked the Shillong Municipal Board to refrain from taking any action pursuant to their public notice till the next date of hearing 20 December 2018.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioners -the Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee -officially called the Harijan Committee, Advocates Naginder Benipal and Harpreet Singh Hora submitted that at the last hearing, the court had directed that peace be maintained in the area, and that in order to pressurize the residents of the area, the government through the Shillong Municipal Board had asked the poor Sikh residents to submit their land records through a public notice published in newspapers on 26 November 2018.
“The last para of the unlawful public notice says that, “if this information is not furnished in 15 days after which no claim would be entertained and everyone would be dealt as per law.” 200 plus years of residency is to be decided in 15 days! ”
Advocates Naginder Benipal and Harpreet Singh HoraAs one can see in the image provided here, the tone of the public notice is nothing but threatening and based on the assumption that all those staying in the Punjabi lane, referred to as Sweepers’ Colony are illegal. One para reads, “In view to establish the factual position as to the number of residents/persons occupying this public land, an opportunity is given to come forward and report to the )designated office office SMB) as to their occupation and years they have been in occupation, nature of occupation, etc.” The last para asks that this information be furnished in 15 days after which no claim would be entertained and everyone would be dealt as per law. 200 plus years of residency is to be decided in 15 days!
“The Committee is in the process of identifying some alternate place to shift the office of the municipal board to accommodate its staff living in Harijan Colony. ”
Advocates Naginder Benipal and Harpreet Singh HoraThe single-bench court of Justice S R Sen took cognizance of the complaint of the petitioners and asked them to make a specific application for the same. It may also be mentioned that since the last 6 months, while the court proceedings are on, all the respondent parties have failed to file any reply of any kind whereas the Deputy Chief Minister and other tribal leaders are continuing to overawe the Sikhs through media statements as well as illegal orders and unlawful searches of Sikh homes.
Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, after the fifth meeting of the High Level Committee on relocation of Harijan residents had announced that the Shillong Municipal Board had issued notices and that all departments would meet soon to conclude the matter. He is reported to have said to a section of the media that, “Our only request to the residents of the Harijan Colony is to go to the Municipal Board with your papers and documents as you still have time and we have given you enough time. There are altogether 184 employees who are staying in Harijan Colony and which include 128 from the Shillong Municipal Board and 56 from other departments.”
The pernicious game of the government of Meghalaya as regards the Sikhs there was spilled out by another member of the High Level Committee. Renekton Lyngdoh Tongkhar told the media that, “The Committee is in the process of identifying some alternate place to shift the office of the municipal board to accommodate its staff living in Harijan Colony.” The game is to shift the office of the corporation and with it ask the Sikhs working in the corporation to shift there.
“I welcome the order of the High Court stopping the Shillong Municipal Board. ”
City Gurdwara President Gurjit Singh meets National Minorities Committee member Manjit Singh Rai The last meeting of the National Commission for Minorities on this issue was on 12 September. Since then no meeting has been scheduled. There is a status quo ante order by the National Commission for Minorities and the National Human Rights Commission, despite that the Meghalaya government is not stopping its pressure tactics and unlawful orders. In order to impress upon the NCM to take up the issue again, Gurjit Singh recently met Manjit Singh Rai, the Sikh member of the National Commission for Minorities.
Gurjit Singh who has been spearheading the struggle on behalf of the hundreds of poor residents is distraught. Speaking to the World Sikh News, he said, “I welcome the order of the High Court stopping the Shillong Municipal Board. I must add that we are scared that the state agencies continue their unlawful acts not caring for the orders of the High Court of Meghalaya or the stay granted by the Minorities Commission and the Human Rights Commission.”
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