NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for trial of the 2015 sacrilege cases involving Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan vacated the earlier stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial.
While directing Ram Rahim to file his detailed response in the case, the apex court fixed the matter for further hearing after four weeks.
The top court vacated the stay after hearing the Punjab government’s plea seeking a stay on the HC order.
Punjab’s Advocate General Gurminder Singh argued for initiation of trial and sought a stay on the HC order staying the trial in the three cases registered at Bajakhana police station at Faridkot in Punjab.
Ram Rahim is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for rape and murder convictions. In 2015, a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, known as ‘Bir’, was reportedly stolen. The incident was followed by handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the scripture found scattered in the village of Bargari, Faridkot.
The desecration led to widespread protests and outrage across the region. In October 2015, the situation escalated when police fired on demonstrators, killing two in Behbal Kalan and injuring several others at Kotkapura.
After the events, multiple FIRs were lodged in various places against him and probes began to identify the perpetrators. Ram Rahim Singh, a self-styled godman and leader of Dera Sacha Sauda emerged as a suspect during the probes.
Although no direct evidence has conclusively linked Ram Rahim to the sacrilege, accusations from Sikh groups and the arrest of individuals connected to his sect, intensified suspicions of his involvement.
In March 2023, the Punjab and Haryana HC stayed the proceedings against Ram Rahim in the sacrilege cases after he filed a petition. This move came after he had earlier requested a CBI inquiry into the three FIRs related to the 2015 incidents. However, with the Supreme Court’s recent decision, the trial is set to resume.
In February 2023, the Supreme Court moved the trial of Singh and seven Dera Sacha Sauda followers in three sacrilege cases from Faridkot to Chandigarh.
The decision was taken when Dera devotee Pardeep Singh Kataria, who is charged in the case, was shot dead.
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