New Delhi [India], January 3: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four other accused in response to a plea filed by the CBI challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to acquit them in the 2002 murder case of Ranjit Singh, the former manager of the sect.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar directed Ram Rahim and the other accused to respond to the petition and tagged the case with another ongoing appeal filed by the deceased’s father, who had also challenged the acquittal.
The matter has now been scheduled for hearing before a bench led by Justice Bela Trivedi, who had previously issued a notice in the complainant’s appeal.
In the 2002 case, Ranjit Singh was murdered while working in his fields in Kurukshetra, Haryana, on July 10. The trial court had initially sentenced five accused, including Ram Rahim, to life imprisonment in October 2021. However, the High Court later acquitted them, citing the CBI’s failure to establish the crime’s motive and raising doubts over the prosecution’s case.
The accused in the case include Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, and Inder Sain, who passed away during the trial in 2020.
Ram Rahim, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for raping two female disciples, is also accused of having orchestrated Ranjit Singh’s murder. According to the CBI’s chargesheet, Ram Rahim believed that Ranjit Singh had circulated an anonymous letter accusing him of sexual exploitation of female followers, which ultimately led to the rape case against him.
The Supreme Court has now directed the matter to proceed with a fresh hearing.