Court will next hear case on September 1, 2023
Amritsar, August 21 – The attitude of the Sikkim government is not positive in the case of Gurdwara Guru Dangmar Sahib associated with Sri Guru Nanak Dev. Despite the order of the honorable high court and the statement made by the advocate general of the Sikkim government in the court, the state government is running away from its due responsibility. This was expressed by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Advocate Bhagwant Singh Sialka, who is also a member of the sub-committee on the issue of Gurdwara Guru Dangmar Sahib, after the recent hearing in this case on August 18, 2023.
Advocate Sialka in the press statement issued from the SGPC office on Monday has said that the Sikkim High Court had ordered to resolve this matter out of court on April 27, 2023, after which the responsibility of the government was very important.
“The court made this order on the basis of the statement given in the court by the advocate general of the Sikkim government. In his statement by the advocate general of government, it was said that presently there is an agreement between the parties to work out modalities for an amicable out-of-court settlement. After this, the court fixed the next date of hearing on August 18, 2023”, said Advocate Sialka.
He said that in order to implement the order of the court, advocate Naveen Barik, who appeared on behalf of the Sikh community, wrote twice to the advocate general of the Sikkim government, but no reply was received in this regard.
Sialka said that now when the hearing was held in the court on August 18, the advocate general of the government did not submit any satisfactory answer and asked for more time. On the other hand, during this hearing, senior advocate APS Ahluwalia and Naveen Barik on behalf of Gurdwara Singh Sabha Siliguri and the SGPC presented the documents related to the history of this Sikh shrine and documents related to its authenticity through historical references. Along with this, information was also given to the court about the commemorative stones installed there by the Sikh and Punjab regiments of the Indian Army from time to time, which are still present there. The court has also been told that from time to time the representatives of the governments have also been recognizing this Sikh shrine, an example of which is the laying of the foundation stone of Deorhi (entrance gate) of Gurdwara Guru Dangmar Sahib by the local MLA in October 1983. He said that after this the court has scheduled the next hearing on September 1, 2023.
Sialka said that the Sikkim government should play its role and resolve the matter in an amicable environment as per its statement given in the court, and not unilaterally play an anti-Sikh role.
