Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs, has directed all gurdwaras around the world not to solemnise same-sex marriages.
Akal Takht high priest Jathedar Gurbachan Singh said: “Management committees of gurdwaras have been told not to solemnise same-sex marriages, as there is no concept of same-sex marriages in Gurmat.”
“God has created men and women and same-sex relations are not allowed. Preachers should spread the message against same-sex marriages among the public. I agree with the Supreme Court verdict,” he said.
Sikh clerics had already issued a direction to gurdwara management committees across the world not to solemnise same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the constitutional validity of the Indian Penal Code provision making gay sex an offence punishable with up to life imprisonment.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) has also hailed the decision of the apex court. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said there was no place for same-sex marriages, adding that the Supreme Court verdict had put an end to the debate on the topic once and for all. In September, when Gurbachan visited the United Kingdom the issue of same-sex marriages was raised by the Sikh Council, UK, as same-sex marriages became legal in the country in July. “This idea cannot be supported as it is unnatural. We will continue to oppose it. We hope better sense will prevail and the UPA government will not bow to public pressure to bring in an ordinance legalising it,” said Kanwar Pal Singh of Dal Khalsa.