Sukhbir Badal wears plaque around neck, sits at entrance of Golden Temple on first day of penance

Former Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal arrived at India's Golden Temple inAmritsar on Tuesday morning (Dec 3) on the first day of restitution.

He was seen wearing sevadar’s robes with a plaque on his neck as he sat on a wheelchair at the entrance of the gurudwara, the holiest shrine of Sikhs.

This comes after the Akal Takht, the Supreme Court of Sikhs, announced its verdict against him over religious misconduct.

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The former Deputy chief minister of Punjab was declared ‘tankhahiya’ or guilty of religious misconduct in August.

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh on Monday (Dec 2) read out a verdict against Badal in the presence of the Panj Piyaare (five high priests) in Amritsar.

As per the verdict, Badal will have to sit wearing sevadar’s robes in front of various gurudwaras across India's northern state of Punjab wearing a plaque around his neck for two days each.

The gurudwaras where he will go for penance are Shri Harimandar Sahib (Golden Temple), Takht Shri Keshgarh Sahib, Takht Shri Damdama Sahib, Darbar Sahib (Muktsar) and Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib.

“The time for sitting in front of the gurudwaras will be 9 am to 10 am. After spending the hour, they will have to go into the langar hall to clean utensils as penance for an hour,” the Jathedar said.

The Akal Takht issued punishments for Badal citing the "mistakes" and "some decisions" SAD took during its tenure in Punjab from the year from 2007 to 2017.

Apart from this, the Five High Priests also called on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to accept the resignation of Badal as chief of the party and withdraw the title of 'Fakhar-e-Quam' bestowed upon former CM Parkash Singh Badal.

The Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht further said that he will clean washrooms from 12:00 to 1:00 PM on Tuesday (Dec 3).

"A meeting of the Panj Singh Sahibs (five high priests of the Shri Akal Takht) was held at the Shri Akal Takht Sahibji in which it was unanimously decided that Sukhbir Singh Badal, as the Deputy Chief Minister of the Punjab Government and President of the Shiromani Akali Dal, took some decisions which have harmed the image of 'Panthak Swaroop'. The situation of Shiromani Akali Dal has deteriorated and Sikh interests have suffered a lot. Therefore, his partner Sikh Cabinet Ministers, who were present in the government from 2007 to 2017, need to submit their written explanations in this regard within 15 days before the Shri Akal Takht," Giani Raghbir Singh said.

(With inputs from agencies)