The Delhi High Court recently found the serving President and General Secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) guilty of contempt for not paying the salaries and arrears of staff working in 12 schools under its management in accordance with the recommendations of the sixth and seventh Central Pay Commissions (CPC) [Mrs Tejinder Pal Gujral v S Manjinder Singh Sirsa & Ors + Connected matters].
Harmeet Singh Kalka serves as the President of DSGMC, while Jagdeep Singh Khalon holds the position of General Secretary.
In a detailed judgment delivered on February 26, the Court issued a show-cause notice to them regarding the quantum of punishment to be imposed.
The Court emphasized that Sikhism advocates values such as honesty, compassion, humanity, humility, and generosity in everyday life. While acknowledging the community’s philanthropic and charitable activities, the Court highlighted the importance of practicing these values within the community itself, stating that “charity begins at home.”
The judgment stated, “There is no point of such philanthropic activities and values when its own teachers and staff of the schools, who are helping to lay down the foundation of a good and progressive society by imparting education and instilling moral values to young students and helping in running the said institutions, are ill-treated and not given their rightful dues, on the other hand are rather made to suffer the agony of approaching this Court repeatedly for the same.”
Justice Navin Chawla also issued a show-cause notice to previous management committees of the DSGMC, directing them to file their replies within four weeks.
Furthermore, the Court ordered that any rent received by the DSGMC or the Guru Harkrishan Public School (New Delhi) Society, which is responsible for managing various schools under the DSGMC, shall be attached and utilized solely for clearing the arrears owed to the 12 schools managed by the GHPS Society as per the sixth and seventh CPC recommendations.
The Court also directed that the salary and other financial benefits of the members of the GHPS Society and the DSGMC shall be withheld until the entire dues of the employees, both teaching and non-teaching staff of the schools, are fully paid or until further orders.
The Court’s order came in response to a series of petitions filed by staff from the 12 schools managed by the GHPS Society, alleging non-compliance with the High Court’s previous order from November 16, 2021. This order had directed the GHPS and DSGMC to pay their salaries and arrears according to the recommendations of the pay commissions.
Although this order was challenged on appeal, assurances were given during the hearing that the salaries would be paid and the dues cleared. However, Justice Chawla found that these assurances were merely attempts to delay proceedings, with blame being shifted to previous managements for financial incapacity.
“The financial incapacity to clear the arrears and pay even the current dues, as pleaded by the respondents, only strengthens the belief of this Court that there is gross mismanagement of the affairs of the schools, GHPS (ND) Society, and to some extent, even of the DSGMC,” the Court emphasized.
The Court concluded that Harmeet Singh Kalka, Jagdeep Singh Khalon, and Mandeep Kaur, the serving President, General Secretary, and honorary secretary of the GHPS Society respectively, were unfit for their positions. However, before their removal, a forensic audit of the GHPS Society and its 12 schools from April 2020 to December 2023 must be conducted.
The audit was ordered, with the auditor required to submit the first report by July 31, 2024. Additionally, the DSGMC was directed to provide funds to the GHPS Society to ensure that employees are paid in accordance with the CPC recommendations and that their arrears are cleared.
Justice Chawla also clarified that the DSGMC’s primary duty is to pay the dues of the employees, including teachers, of the GHPS (ND) Society and its schools. Other philanthropic activities should be reduced or stopped if necessary to provide funds for these payments.
The Court rejected the argument that the DSGMC is not responsible for clearing the dues of the school staff, noting the committee’s pervasive control over the schools’ functioning.
Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, along with several other advocates, appeared for the teaching staff, while the Delhi Singh Gurdwara Management Committee was represented by Senior Advocates IS Alag and Kirti Uppal, among others. The Delhi Government was represented by Standing Counsel (Service) Avnish Ahlawat, as well as several other advocates.
