Akal Takht seeks opinion on Balwant Singh Rajoana’s mercy plea

Amritsar, August 30

After death row prisoner Balwant Singh Rajoana asked the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to withdraw the mercy petition that was filed with the President on his behalf to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment, five high priests today discussed the issue at a meeting headed by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh.

The Jathedar said for the past 12 years, Rajoana’s petition had been lying pending without any conclusion, despite the fact that he had been in the prison for the past three decades. “Now, he has appealed to the SGPC to withdraw the petition,” he said.

After discussing the matter, five high priests gave a call to Sikh intellectuals and organisations to submit their views on the matter so that a consolidated opinion could be formed to proceed further.

The five high priests also took cognisance of the ruckus usually created by the youth during the occasion of “viah purb” (marriage) of Guru Nanak Dev in Batala.