The Delhi Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1971

(1) This Act may be called the Delhi Sikh GurdwarasAct, 1971. (2) It extends to the whole of the Union territory of Delhi. (3) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) “appointed day” means the date on which this Act shall come into force; (b) “Board” means the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Board constituted under section 3 of the Delhi SikhGurdwaras (Management) Act, 1971 (24 of 1971); (c) “Committee” means the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee established undersection 3; (d) “Delhi” means the Union territory of Delhi; (e) “Director Gurdwara Elections” means the Director Gurdwara Elections appointed by theCentral Government under section 13; (f) “Gurdwaras” means the Sikh Gurdwaras situated in Delhi as were, immediately before theappointed day, being managed by or affiliated to the Board and includes such other local Gurdwarasas may, after the appointed day, be affiliated to or managed by the Committee; (g) “Gurdwara property” means, (i) all movable and immovable property which, immediately before the appointed day, vestedor was kept in deposit in the name of the Board; (ii) all property which stands in the name of the Gurdwaras or in the name of the Board or thepresent or old managers of the historic Gurdwaras; (iii) all offerings in cash or kind made in various Gurdwaras or institutions managed orcontrolled by the Committee; (iv) all property in cash or kind, movable as well as immovable that may be acquired bypurchase, exchange or otherwise by the Gurdwaras, or the Committee, from time to time; (v) all grants, donations or contributions made, from time to time, by any person or authorityto the Gurdwaras or the Committee, and includes any actionable claim with respect to such Gurdwara property; (h) “local Gurdwara” means a Gurdwara in Delhi, other than a Gurdwara under the control ormanagement of the Board immediately before the appointed day; (i) a person shall not be deemed to be “ordinarily resident” in a ward on the ground only that heowns or is in possession of a dwelling-house therein and a person absenting himself temporarily fromhis place of ordinary residence shall not by reason thereof cease to be ordinarily resident therein; (j) “patit” means a Sikh who trims or shaves his beard or hair (keshas) or who after taking Amritcommits any one or more of the four Kurahitis; (k) “registered Singh Sabha” means a Singh Sabha registered as a society under the SocietiesRegistration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), which is managing or controlling a local Gurdwara in Delhi; (l) “regulation” means a regulation made under this Act by the Committee; (m) “rule” means a rule made under this Act by the Central Government; (n) “Sikh” means a person who professes the Sikh religion, believes and follows the teachings ofSri Guru Granth Sahib and the ten Gurus only and keeps unshorn hair (Keshas). For the purposes of ifany question arises as to whether any living person is or is not a Sikh, he shall be deemed respectivelyto be or not to be a Sikh according as he makes or refuses to make in the manner prescribed by rulesthe following declaration: “I solemnly affirm that I am a Keshadhari Sikh, that I believe in and follow the teachings of SriGuru Granth Sahib and the ten Gurus only, and that I have no other religion.”; (o) “Amritdhari Sikh” means and includes every Sikh who has taken Khande ka Amrit or KhandaPahul, prepared and administered according to the tenets of Sikh religion and rites at the hands of fivePyaras or “beloved ones”.

(1) With effect from such date as the Central Governmentmay, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, there shall be established a Committee to be calledthe Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee for the proper management and control of theGurdwaras and Gurdwara property. (2) The Committee shall be a body corporate with the name aforesaid having perpetual successionand a common seal and shall by such name sue and be sued. (3) The Committee shall have its head office in Delhi.

The Committee shall consist of (a) forty-six members to be elected from various wards into which Delhi shall be divided inaccordance with the provisions of this Act; (b) nine members to be co-opted by the elected members of the Committee referred to inclause (a) in the manner hereinafter appearing, (i) two members to represent the registered Singh Sabhas of Delhi who shall be chosen bydrawing of lots out of the Presidents of those registered Singh Sabhas; (ii) four members, each being the head priest of the (1) Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, Amritsar,(2) Sri Takhat Kesgarh Sahib, Anandpur, (3) Sri Takhat Patna Sahib, Patna, and (4) Sri TakhatHazur Sahib, Nanded: Provided that the head priest shall have no right to vote for the purpose of election ofoffice-bearers and other members of the Executive Board under sub-section (1) and sub-section(2) of section 16; (iii) one member, being the nominee of the Shromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee,Amritsar; (iv) two members to represent the Sikh community of Delhi, other than those referred to insub-clause (i), sub-clause (ii) and sub-clause (iii), to be chosen in accordance with the system ofproportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

(1) Save as otherwise provided in this section, the term of office of a member ofthe Committee shall be four years and shall commence from the date on which the first meeting of theCommittee is held under section 15, and no longer. (2) When a vacancy occurs in the Committee owing to death, resignation, removal or otherwise of amember, a new member shall be elected or co-opted, as the case may be, in the manner in which themember whose seat is to be filled was elected or co-opted and every such member shall continue to holdoffice so long only as the member in whose place he is elected or co-opted would have been entitled tohold office, if the vacancy had not occurred. (3) An outgoing member shall continue in office until the notification of election or co-option of hissuccessor is published under section 12.