Will not appear before inquiry commission: SGPC chief

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Kirpal Singh Badungar today said he would not appear before the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, which is looking into certain incidents of sacrilege reported from Punjab.
The one-man inquiry commission was formed by the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in the state.
Interacting with reporters after chairing a meeting of the executive panel of the Sikh body at the Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib here, Badungar said the SGPC was a supreme body managing the religious affairs of the Sikhs and its president could not be summoned by a commission appointed by the government.
He said the SGPC had outrightly rejected the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission and thus, there was no point appearing before it or submitting any documents to it.

Badungar also claimed that his decision not to appear before the commission had the "collectively backing" of the executive panel of the SGPC.
The commission had recently asked Badungar to appear before it on October 8.

The SGPC chief has also been asked to bring along any documents related to the incidents of sacrilege and also, the alleged pardon granted by the Akal Takht to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy case.
The commission has also summoned Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurcharan Singh.
The previous SAD-BJP government in Punjab had appointed the Justice Zora Singh Commission to look into the incidents of sacrilege. The report submitted by the commission was dismissed by the Congress government, which came to power in the state in March.

The inquiry commission under Justice Ranjit Singh, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was set up by the new government in April.