Overview
- The Akal Takht’s five head priests issued a decree on Sunday expelling Amarjit Singh Chawla and Giani Malkit Singh from the Khalsa Panth and ordered Sikhs to sever religious and social ties with them.
- The underlying criminal complaint was filed on August 21 and alleges Chawla raped and wrongfully confined a Bahrain-based woman at a serai in Anandpur Sahib; the FIR names sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rape, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation.
- The SGPC has suspended staff named in the complaint and opened an internal inquiry, while the Shiromani Akali Dal accepted Chawla’s resignation from party and SGPC posts; police say the criminal probe is active and evidence is being collected.
- Chawla denies the allegations, says the excommunication violated natural justice because he was not given a hearing, and has accused opponents of a political plot; some reports say he has left for Canada though police emphasize the investigation is ongoing.
- Akal Takht expulsion bars the men from serving in Sikh institutions for life and raises broader scrutiny of SGPC practices and political accountability, increasing pressure on authorities to complete the legal investigation and on institutions to explain use of gurdwara resources.