Setback for Ram Rahim, SC lifts stay on trial in sacrilege cases

The Supreme Court on Friday lifted High Court stay on trial against Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in sacrilege cases. Punjab and Haryana High Court had imposed a stay on proceedings against the Dera chief in three interlinked Bargari Sacrilege of 2015.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan passed the order today after the Punjab government filed a petition challenging the stay imposed on Ram Rahim’s trial. The 57-year-old Gurmeet Ram Rahim was alleged to be involved in 3 separate incidents of sacrilege of the holy book Shri Guru Granth Sahib between June to October 2015 in Punjab.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Punjab Government, in stark contrast to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, accused several Dera followers, including three national committee members, and the chief of Dera Ram Rahim in the 2015 cases.
The Dera chief moved the High Court in 2021 seeking a fair and impartial investigation in the case pertaining to sacrilege of the Sikh holy book. The plea sought withdrawal of Punjab government’s consent to transfer the probe to CBI. Challenging Punjab Government’s 2018 notification dated September 6, Gurmeet Ram Rahim sought directions to CBI to continue with the investigation in the sacrilege cases.
The high court citing “tainted and sketchy” investigations acquitted Dera chief and four others in May this year in the murder of the sect’s former manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.
In the recent general assembly polls held on October 5 in Haryana, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s former jailer Sunil Sangwan representing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in the Charkhi Dadri constituency. In the 90-member-constituent assembly, Sunil Sangwan, who is a former jail superintendent, won against his closest rival Congress’ Manisha Sangwan by 1,957 votes. These results came out on October 8 and the development about Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate proceedings against Dera Sacha Sauda chief in the Bargari case comes ten days after the poll results.
Earlier this month, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail on a 20-day parole, following permission granted by the Haryana government. The Dera chief has been in jail since 2017 in the case related to rape of two of his disciples and has been serving a 20-year sentence.