The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, along with four others in the 2002 murder case of Ranjit Singh, who was a former manager of the Dera. This notice has been issued in pursuance of a plea from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to acquit Ram Rahim and his co-accused.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar conceded that this matter is already before a bench headed by Justice Bela M. Trivedi for consideration. The matter would now be placed before her bench for further proceedings.
Ranjit Singh was shot dead on July 10, 2002, in Khanpur Colony, Kurukshetra, Haryana. His murder is suspected to be in connection with the circulation of an anonymous letter he was accused of distributing, which included allegations of sexual exploitation of women by Gurmeet Ram Rahim at the Dera’s headquarters in Sirsa. The letter caused much public outrage because of its alarming content.
In 2021, the respective special CBI court in Panchkula guilty Gurmeet Ram Rahim along with four others including Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, and Sabdil Singh, involved in the murder. All are sentenced for life imprisonment with huge fines.
The amount of fine imposed on Ram Rahim is Rs 31 lakh, Sabdil Singh Rs 1.50 lakh, Jasbir Singh and Krishan Lal both Rs 1.25 lakh and Avtar Singh Rs 75,000. The court concluded that Ram Rahim orchestrated the murder out of suspicion regarding Singh’s involvement in the dissemination of the incriminating letter.
However, in May 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court overturned the lower court’s conviction, acquitting all five accused in the Ranjit Singh murder case.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has filed appeals against his convictions in several cases, including multiple rape charges and the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati.
In 2017, Ram Rahim was convicted of raping two female followers, an incident that sparked mass violence across Haryana, Punjab, and parts of Delhi, leaving 30 dead and more than 250 injured. The situation became so bad that the Army had to be called in to restore order.
Ram Rahim was found guilty on additional counts, which included the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati. Chhatarpati had reported on the rape allegations against Ram Rahim for months. With these additional convictions, Ram Rahim faced a cumulative sentence of 20 years in prison.
