Chandigarh, Feb. 17 -- Three persons, including a former joint secretary of SGPC's joint publication department, have been granted interim protection from arrest by the Punjab and Haryana high court in connection with the December 7 FIR regarding disappearance of 328 saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib.

These include former joint secretary Gurbachan Singh, former clerk Baj Singh and bookbinder (jild saaz) Kulwant Singh, who had approached the high court in January.

While allowing the interim protection, the court said the FIR in the matter had been lodged after a lot of delay and there was no proper explanation for it. It also noted that the FIR had not been lodged by SGPC, who was responsible for religious affairs.

Posting the matter for...