Amritsar: A day after being excommunicated from the Khalsa Panth by Akal Takht over rape allegations, former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and SGPC member Amarjit Singh Chawla termed the decree discriminatory. He accused the Sikh clergy of violating the principles of natural justice by pronouncing the verdict without seeking his side of the story or conducting an independent probe.
Akal Takht on Sunday excommunicated Chawla along with suspended additional head granthi Malkit Singh. The Sikh clergy directed the community to sever all ties with both men and barred them for life from holding positions in Sikh institutions. The decree stated Chawla will remain expelled unless he proves his innocence and appears before Akal Takht.
The action follows an FIR registered on August 21 in Anandpur Sahib, based on a complaint by a Bahrain-based woman from Sangrur. She accused Chawla of raping her at a local serai (inn), and implicated Malkit Singh and an SGPC driver for sending her vulgar messages. Malkit Singh is in the UK at present.
The FIR includes charges under Sections 64 (rape), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Following the FIR, Chawla resigned from his SAD and SGPC posts and reportedly headed to Canada.
Releasing a video addressed to Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, Chawla questioned the haste of the decision.
“I feel brought to injustice from a seat of justice,” Chawla said. “The jathedar did not look into the allegations thoroughly. The matter is sub judice. Norms of natural justice demand that the accused be given a hearing before a verdict is delivered,” he said.
Chawla further pointed to the Jathedar’s press briefing, where Gargaj had acknowledged meeting the woman earlier. Gargaj noted during his interaction that the woman had initially complained about Malkit Singh, not Chawla—raising questions from Chawla as to why her sudden claims against him were accepted later without a thorough inquiry.
Chawla also highlighted inconsistencies in the claims, pointing to a video released by SAD leader Roop Kaur Sandhu where the complainant allegedly made contradictory statements. He cited the precedent set in the case of former minister Sucha Singh Langah.
“Even when a video surfaced in Langah’s case, a probe committee was constituted before excommunicating him. In my case, there is no proof, yet a decision was taken in haste without even summoning me to present my defence,” Chawla argued.
He alleged political motives behind the move, claiming the acting jathedar held a personal grudge against him for past opposition to his coronation ceremony at Takht Kesgarh Sahib. Chawla added that he holds evidence of the conspiracy and will disclose the names of those involved in the coming days.
Surjit Singh is a correspondent. He covers politics and agriculture, besides religious affairs and Indo-Pak border in Amritsar and Tarn Taran.