Supreme Court lifts stay on Dera Chief Ram Rahim's 2015 sacrilege case trial

The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the trial of the 2015 sacrilege cases involving Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and K V Vishwanathan vacated the stay that had been imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial, instructing Ram Rahim to submit a response. This development occurred as the court reviewed a plea from the Punjab government. The matter is scheduled to be heard again after four weeks.

Punjab's Advocate General, Gurminder Singh, had earlier requested the apex court to halt the high court's order that stayed the trial in three cases registered at Bajakhana Police Station in Faridkot, Punjab. Observing that the case required further scrutiny, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Ram Rahim, setting the stage for continued legal proceedings.

In February 2023, the Supreme Court had already transferred the trial of Ram Rahim and his followers in these cases from Faridkot to Chandigarh. Ram Rahim had previously approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, contesting the validity of a September 2018 notification by the Punjab government. This notification had revoked the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) jurisdiction over the case, transferring it to state authorities. Ram Rahim sought a directive for the CBI to resume the investigation.

On March 11, 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court referred several legal questions to a larger bench for consideration. At that time, the court had also issued an interim stay on the trial against Ram Rahim in the sacrilege cases, pending further orders. The larger bench was tasked with determining whether the state government's consent for a CBI probe could be withdrawn at a later stage of the investigation.

Meanwhile, Ram Rahim was recently granted a 20-day parole by the Haryana government, with the condition that he would not engage in any election-related activities or leave the state during this period. Ram Rahim is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Rohtak's Sunaria Jail after being convicted in 2017 for the rape of two of his female followers. In addition to the rape conviction, Ram Rahim and three others were also found guilty in a 2019 murder case involving the death of a journalist over 16 years ago.