 |
| With insurmountable evidence against its case, and pressure from the SGPC, the National Gurdwara in Washington on Friday unconditionally withdrew its lawsuit to bar a Virginia couple from coming to the gurdwara. Photo Source: dccourts.gov |
Reporting from Washington - In light of a damaging video and pressure from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the National Gurdwara unconditionally withdrew its lawsuit on Friday against a Virginia couple.
The National Gurdwara, formally known as the Sikh Cultural Society of Washington, filed the lawsuit on Oct. 22 asking the District of Columbia Superior Court to bar Amrik Singh and Jaspreet Kaur Choudhary from its premises.
According to court documents, they are accused of disturbing the peace and assaulting the langar coordinator, Parminder Kaur Babra, who is the sister-in-law of head trustee, Shamsher Singh Babra.
The alleged assault was the backbone of the lawsuit. But when a secret video footage was submitted as evidence, showing that the alleged assault never happened, the board of trustees attempted to settle the lawsuit. The settlement fell apart a day before their court appearance on Dec. 9.
“They wanted to write (conditions) that I will not speak on behalf of National Gurdwara sangat,” Amrik Singh told SikhNN. Any member of the sangat has a right to speak, he said.
“We are not going to (sign) anything,” Amrik Singh said. “No conditions or we go to court.” And if the board members continued with the court case, he would sue them for harassment and for bring false charges. On Jan. 28, the board members withdrew the case.
“They withdrew the case because of the video,” he added. Beside, the SGPC is going to take over the Sikh Cultural Society.
Gurmeet Singh Bedi, an SGPC spokesman in Charlotte, North Carolina, confirmed that the SGPC would be acquiring the property within the next two months.
When SGPC representatives from Amritsar were in Washington last month to survey the property, Raghujit Singh, senior vice president, was asked about the lawsuit.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Everything will be fine.”