Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others in the 2002 murder case of a former Dera official.
The Special CBI court of Panchkula had previously sentenced all the accused, including Gurmeet Ram Rahim, to life imprisonment for the murder of Dera manager Ranjit Singh. Additionally, a fine of Rs 31 lakh was imposed on Ram Rahim and Rs 50,000 on the remaining accused.
A division bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Lalit Batra overturned the lower court’s order and acquitted all five accused.
Jatinder Khurana, the lawyer for Gurmeet Ram Rahim, expressed satisfaction with the decision. “The Honorable Punjab and Haryana High Court has changed the order of the lower court and all five people who were involved in this have been acquitted. We welcome this decision,” Khurana said.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is also serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples, is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana.
The case dates back to July 10, 2002, when Ranjit Singh, a resident of Khanpur Kolian in Kurukshetra, was murdered while working in his fields. Following a thorough investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet in 2007 against six accused, with charges framed in 2008. On October 8, 2021, the court convicted Ram Rahim and four others in connection with Ranjit Singh’s murder.
The High Court’s decision to acquit the accused has brought a significant turn in the case, highlighting the complexities and ongoing legal battles surrounding Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his followers.
