The Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht on Monday declared Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ‘Guru Dokhi’ and ‘Khalsa Panth virodhi’, accusing him of lying about a purported objectionable video. The pronouncement was made by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj from the faseel, or podium of the Akal Takht, after a meeting of the five Singh Sahiban in Amritsar.
The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, also summoned all Sikh MLAs, irrespective of party affiliation, and the Punjab Cabinet to appear before it on June 29 in connection with the anti-sacrilege law, the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026.
Gargajj said the video circulating on social media, purportedly showing a man resembling Mann, had been found to be ‘authentic’ by two forensic laboratories. He said the video was neither tampered with nor AI-generated.
According to Gargajj, the Akal Takht secretariat had written to the chief minister in January after Mann said he was open to a forensic examination of the video, but did not receive any response. He said the secretariat then got the video examined by two laboratories.
‘A position of chief minister is respectable. But chief minister Bhagwant Singh (Mann) lied at the Akal Takht (about the video),’ Gargajj said. He added that the five Singh Sahiban had therefore declared the chief minister ‘Guru Dokhi’ and ‘Khalsa Panth Virodhi’.
MANN WAS SUMMONED BY THE AKAL TAKHT IN JANUARY
The matter arises from Mann being summoned by the Akal Takht in January this year for allegedly making comments on ‘Guru ki Golak’, a gurdwara donation box, and for indulging in ‘objectionable activities’ with pictures of the Sikh Gurus and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in some video clips. Mann appeared before the secretariat in Amritsar on January 15 and said the videos circulating on social media were fake.
He had also said the video was fake or AI-generated and that the Singh Sahiban could get a forensic examination conducted by any laboratory in the country.
On the anti-sacrilege law, Gargajj said Sikh MLAs from all parties and the Punjab Cabinet must appear before the Akal Takht on June 29. The Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had earlier objected to the law, saying it was enacted without consulting the Sikh Panth.
The Akal Takht had also asked the state government to remove provisions from the anti-sacrilege Act that it said were against the Guru Granth Sahib, the Khalsa Panth and the sentiments of the Sangat, or Sikh community. The Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was unanimously passed by the Punjab Assembly on April 13 and includes a provision for stricter punishment, including life imprisonment, for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.
LAB REPORT CITED BY AKAL TAKHT UNCLEAR: AAP
Shortly before the pronouncement at the Akal Takht, AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Singh Pannu said on Monday that the lab reports cited by the Akal Takht Jathedar did not make clear who the person seen in the video was. He also said Gargajj had become political and had chosen a side, and added that Akal Takht Sahib was the takht of the entire Sikh community. ‘It neither belongs to SAD chief Sukhbir Badal nor SAD,’ Pannu said.
With the declaration against Mann and the summons issued over the anti-sacrilege law, the Akal Takht’s action on Monday brought together both the dispute over the video and its objections to the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026.
– Ends
With PTI inputs
Published By:
Ritaban Misra
Published On:
Jun 15, 2026 20:44 IST
