HC contempt notice to Punjab DGP for ‘failure’ to act in 328 missing ‘saroops’ case
The high court acted on the plea from one Gurvatan Singh and sought a response from the DGP by December 16.
The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought response from Punjab director general of police (DGP) on a contempt petition alleging inaction by the state authorities over the alleged negligence in handling the case of 328 ‘saroops’ (holy scripture) of Guru Granth Sahib, which were found missing from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), library in Amritsar in 2020.
The high court acted on the plea from one Gurvatan Singh and sought a response from the DGP by December 16.
Initially a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in August 2025, seeking directions to authorities to take action in the 2020 controversy, which was earlier disposed of by the high court while observing that it expected that appropriate steps would be taken by the functionaries of the state.
The PIL was disposed of after the petitioner had brought a letter to the notice of the court, wherein the secretary, department of home addressed to the DGP, requesting appropriate action be taken on the legal notice the government had received about the 2020 controversy.
However, now the same petitioner in the contempt petition moved on Wednesday, had claimed wilful disobedience by the authorities by not initiating criminal proceedings and had sought the court’s indulgence.
A major controversy broke out in 2020, when 328 saroops were found missing from SGPC records due to alleged misappropriation by the staff. The issue led to a serious backlash from the Sikh community and an investigation by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of Sikhs. Several SGPC employees were found guilty of negligence and misconduct.
The matter came to light on June 26, 2020, after the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) wrote a letter in this regard to the Punjab government and Akal Takht. The SGPC faced backlash over the issue, and the main inquiry of the case was conducted by Akal Takht under its supervision, in which it was confirmed that “saroops” had gone missing from the SGPC publication house. The misappropriation continued for several years up to 2015, the inquiry report had later revealed.
