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Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Monday rejected a clemency appeal of excommunicated Sucha Singh Langah, a former Akali minister, saying the Sikh community would continue to socially boycott him.
The decision came after Langah’s son submitted a fresh clemency appeal to the secretariat of the Akal Takht, the top temporal seat of Sikhs.
Rejecting the appeal during a meeting of five Sikh head priests, Singh said, “There is no clemency for Sucha Singh Langah and people of Sikh community would continue social boycott with him.”
The Akal Takht has excommunicated Langah from the Sikh community in October 2017 after he was booked in a rape case from which he was later acquitted.
Earlier this month, Langah was pardoned by the “panj pyaras” (five beloved ones of the Guru) at the historical Gurdwara Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in Gurdaspur.
However, the ex-communication verdict against Langah by the Akal Takht remained intact.
Thereafter, the Akal Takht had declared two persons, including a Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee member, “tankhaiya” (guilty of religious misconduct) for having “association” with Langah.
Langah had pleaded for clemency in March also.
He was booked by Punjab Police in 2017 under IPC sections, including 376 (rape), 384 (extortion) and 420 (cheating).
However, later the complainant claimed in the court that she complained under pressure, leading to Langah’s acquittal in 2018.
