India, Sept. 21 -- A day after being excommunicated from the Khalsa Panth by Akal Takht over rape allegations, former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and SGPC member Amarjit Singh Chawla termed the decree discriminatory. He accused the Sikh clergy of violating the principles of natural justice by pronouncing the verdict without seeking his side of the story or conducting an independent probe.

Akal Takht on Sunday excommunicated Chawla along with suspended additional head granthi Malkit Singh. The Sikh clergy directed the community to sever all ties with both men and barred them for life from holding positions in Sikh institutions. The decree stated Chawla will remain expelled unless he proves his innocence and appears before Akal Takht....