The High Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and the Army on a plea seeking disclosure of the manuscripts, religious texts and other articles purportedly handed over to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) by them.
The petitioner claimed that the articles were seized during the operation Blue Star in 1984. This comes about seven years after a Ludhiana resident sought directions to the Sikh body to disclose the fate of the religious texts and other articles purportedly handed over to them by the Indian Army, the CBI and the government.
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As the matter came up for hearing on Monday, the Bench headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu asserted, “Let the respondents concerned file their reply. If they have it, they will say so. Otherwise, they will say they do not have it.”
The notice on behalf of the Centre and the Army was accepted in the court by Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain. The Bench was told that the petition was filed in public interest way back in 2019. Taking up the matter, the Bench on November 7, 2019, had issued notice of motion only to the SGPC