New Delhi, 19 October, 2024: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the trial to proceed in the 2015 sacrilege cases involving Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by lifting a stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A bench led by Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Vishwanathan instructed Ram Rahim to respond to the Punjab Government’s petition challenging the high court’s previous order. The case has been scheduled for further hearing in four weeks, as the court deemed it necessary for scrutiny.
This decision follows a request from Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh, who urged the Supreme Court to remove the stay on the trial of three cases registered at the Bajakhana police station in Faridkot. On February 28, 2023, the Supreme Court had previously ordered that the trial of these three cases against Ram Rahim and seven others be moved from Faridkot to Chandigarh due to heightened security concerns for those involved.
The court’s earlier decision came after it was said that Pardeep Singh Kataria, also known as Raju Dhodhi, a follower of the Dera and accused in the sacrilege cases, was killed in Faridkot in November 2022 while out on bail. This incident raised major alarm about the safety of those involved in the trial.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had previously approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to contest a September 2018 notification from the state government that had removed the cases from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He requested that the central agency be directed to conduct an investigation into the cases.
On March 11, 2024, the high court referred the matter to a larger bench to assess whether the state government could withdraw its consent for a CBI probe at a later stage. “Since the issues are being referred for consideration by a larger Bench, it is appropriate to issue an interim direction to balance the equities. Thus, further proceedings before the trial court against the petitioner (Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh) in these sacrilege cases shall remain stayed until further orders,” the high court stated.
Currently, Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2017 for raping two of his disciples. The developments in these cases come amid ongoing concerns about the implications for both justice and public safety in the region.
