Akal Takht, Takht Patna Sahib resolve standoff; edicts against Sukhbir Badal withdrawn

Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj held a meeting with five Sikh high priests on Monday in connection with resolving the ongoing standoff between Akal Takht and Takht Sri Patna Sahib.

The standoff was amicably resolved during a Panj Singh Sahiban meeting under Jathedar Gargaj’s leadership.

The meeting accepted a letter from the Bihar-based Takht withdrawing all previous edicts that had declared Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and the jathedars of Akal Takht and Takht Damdama Sahib as ‘tankhaiya’.

Additionally, Akal Takht also withdrew edicts issued against the management of Takht Sri Patna Sahib.

The controversy dates back to May 21 when the ‘panj pyare’ at Takht Sri Patna Sahib summoned Sukhbir for allegedly interfering in its functioning. In the same meeting, they also declared Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, Takht Kesgarh Sahib Jathedar and Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Baba Tek Singh as ‘tankhaiya’ for reinstating Gauhar and summoning granthis without Takht Sri Patna Sahib’s consent.

The five high priests at Takht Sri Patna Sahib had accused the SAD chief of interfering in the organisation’s internal affairs and failing to appear before them despite being given three opportunities, including a 20-day extension on the request of SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. This, they said, “compelled them to issue the ‘tankhaiya’ edict”.

However, Akal Takht rejected the pronouncement and instead declared three of the five Takht Sri Patna Sahib high priests ‘tankhaiya’, directing them to clarify their position within 15 days.

The original edict from Takht Sri Patna Sahib had accused Sukhbir of conspiring in the reinstatement of excommunicated Jathedar Giani Ranjit Singh Gauhar and in summoning the Takht’s head granthi and additional head granthi to Akal Takht, actions viewed as “undermining the Patna-based Takht’s autonomy”.

The SGPC dismissed the edict, asserting that Takht Sri Patna Sahib lacked jurisdiction in such matters. SGPC president Dhami emphasised that only Akal Takht had the authority to deliberate on panthic issues and warned that challenges to its supremacy could fracture Sikh unity. He called for resolution through dialogue rather than confrontation.

This is not the first time Sukhbir has faced such censure. On August 30, 2024, five high priests led by then Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh had declared him ‘tankhaiya’ for controversial decisions taken during his tenure as the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and as SAD president. While undergoing religious penance at the Golden Temple, Sukhbir narrowly survived an assassination attempt on December 4 when Khalistani militant Narayan Singh Chaura opened fire at him as he served as a ‘sewadar’ at the shrine’s entrance.

Punjab