Dec 17, 2007, 17:13 GMT
Chandigarh, Dec 17 (IANS) Sikhs cannot be considered a 'minority' in Punjab and cannot claim 50 percent reservation in seats for admission to educational institutions run by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled Monday.
The court order came from a division bench comprising Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Ajay Lamba on a petition filed by a student Sahil Mittal claiming that the Sikhs were not a minority in Punjab and could not reserve 50 percent of seats for the community in SGPC-run educational institutions.
The high court ruling is likely to lead to a debate in the state with the SGPC declaring that it will approach the Supreme Court against the high court order.
Reacting strongly to the decision, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar Monday said that the Sikh organization would challenge it. 'We are ready for a long legal battle over the minority quota issue. The high court's orders are beyond our comprehension,' Makkar said.
© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service
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