Amritsar–The five Sikh high priests on Sunday decided to consult constitutional experts and Sikh scholars regarding the role of the President in conferring gallantry awards to the defense personnel, it is learnt.

The high priests in their meeting during the last two days decided to seek the opinion of the experts before announcing any verdict against the President, Giani Zail Singh for his having conferred gallantry awards on the defense personnel involved in Operation Blue Star in June last year.

The awards by the President have been a subject of bitter controversy for some time. Earlier, Jathedar Harcharan Singh Mahalon of Takht Keshgarh Sahib had in a communication to the Akal Takht Jathedar stated that a number of people had met him in recent days demanding action against Giani Zail Singh.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 17, 1985