President clears Bill on smokers can't vote in SGPC polls

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Act, 2016, which changed the provisions of a 91-year-old law that regulated the administration of Gurdwaras in Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

According to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, every Sikh who is above 21 years of age and is registered as a voter, will be entitled to vote in the elections to Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), constituted to look after the overall administration and management of the religious shrines of the community. The new law makes it clear that “no person shall be registered as an elector who trims or shaves his beard, smokes and takes alcohol.”