The Supreme Court has issued a notice to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four other accused individuals, seeking their response to the CBI’s petition challenging their acquittal in the Ranjit Singh murder case.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna transferred the case to the bench of Justice M. Bela Trivedi, stating that since her bench had already issued notice on a petition filed by the victims, it would also hear the CBI’s appeal.
In a significant ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, and four others in the 2002 murder case of Ranjit Singh, the manager of the Sirsa Dera.
The High Court set aside the verdict of a special CBI court, which had sentenced Ram Rahim and the others to life imprisonment in 2021.
Alongside Ram Rahim, the other accused were Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, and Sabdil Singh. One of the accused had passed away during the trial. The special CBI court had also imposed fines on the convicted individuals, with Ram Rahim fined Rs 31 lakh, Sabdil Rs 1.50 lakh, and Jasbir and Krishan Rs 1.25 lakh each.
On October 18, 2021, the special CBI court in Panchkula convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others for the murder of Ranjit Singh, sentencing them to life imprisonment. The CBI had taken over the investigation in 2003 and concluded that Ram Rahim, along with the other accused, had orchestrated the murder.
The court had also imposed substantial fines on the convicted individuals. However, following the High Court’s acquittal, the CBI challenged the decision, leading to the current appeal in the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that the CBI had failed to establish a clear motive behind the crime. The court noted that the prosecution’s case was surrounded by doubts, and the defence raised significant questions about the credibility of the evidence. The High Court’s decision to acquit the accused has now been challenged by the CBI, which is seeking to reverse the judgment.
Despite the acquittal in the Ranjit Singh murder case, Gurmeet Ram Rahim remains in jail due to his conviction in separate rape and murder cases. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his female disciples.
Ram Rahim is imprisoned at the Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana, where he has been incarcerated since his conviction.
For the unversed, the tragic murder of Ranjit Singh occurred on July 10, 2002, when he was shot dead in Sirsa. The CBI took over the investigation in 2003 and found that Ram Rahim and the others were involved in the conspiracy to murder Singh.
In 2021, the special CBI court convicted all five accused, sentencing them to life imprisonment, a decision that was later overturned by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The Supreme Court’s notice to Gurmeet Ram Rahim and the other accused sets the stage for further legal proceedings in the Ranjit Singh murder case.
The court’s decision to transfer the matter to Justice Bela M. Trivedi’s benchmarks is a crucial point in the ongoing legal battle. The outcome of the CBI’s appeal will have significant implications for the case and could potentially result in the reversal of the High Court’s acquittal.
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