Supreme Court notice to Ram Rahim in Ranjit Singh murder case acquittal appeal
PTC Web Desk: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to Gurmeet Ram Rahim, leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, in connection with an appeal challenging his acquittal in the 2002 Ranjit Singh murder case. The Supreme Court has sought a response from Ram Rahim and four others within four weeks. The appeal was filed after the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted them on May 28, 2023, giving them the benefit of doubt.
The case pertains to the murder of Ranjit Singh, a former Dera Sacha Sauda manager, who was shot dead on July 10, 2002, at Khanpur Kolian village, Kurukshetra, Haryana. The killing was allegedly orchestrated by Ram Rahim, who suspected that Ranjit Singh was involved in the circulation of an anonymous letter exposing sexual exploitation of women at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa.
In 2021, a special CBI court in Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim and four others—Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, and Sabdil Singh—in the murder case, sentencing them to life imprisonment. Another accused, Inder Singh, passed away during the trial. The conviction was based on the findings of a CBI investigation, which indicated that Ram Rahim had conspired with his co-accused to eliminate Ranjit Singh.
However, in May 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court overturned the conviction, citing the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) failure to conclusively establish the motive behind the crime. The court concluded that the evidence against the accused was insufficient, leading to their acquittal.
The Supreme Court's notice comes in response to a petition filed by Jagseer Singh, represented by Advocate Satyamitra, challenging the High Court's decision. The petition argues that the acquittal was unjust and failed to account for key evidence linking Ram Rahim and his accomplices to the murder. The Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, agreed to examine the matter and issued notices to Ram Rahim and the other acquitted individuals.
Ram Rahim, the controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief, is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for the sexual assault of two female disciples. He is currently lodged in Sunaria Jail, Rohtak, Haryana. In addition to his conviction for rape, Ram Rahim was also found guilty in 2019 for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who was allegedly killed after publishing reports exposing the Dera chief's criminal activities.
- With inputs from our correspondent
