Bhagwant Mann approves prosecution of Dera chief Ram Rahim in 2015 sacrilege cases
The three FIRs relate to sacrilege incidents that began on June 1, 2015, when a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village.
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Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh Insan (File Photo)Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday granted prosecution sanction for Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh Insan in the 2015 sacrilege cases, three days after the Supreme Court revived the trial against him.
The apex court on Friday reinstated the trial, staying a March 2024 order by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had paused proceedings in three criminal cases related to the incidents. A bench led by Justice Bhushan R Gavai stayed the High Court’s March 11 order, following an appeal by the Punjab government. The state questioned the High Court’s approach in revisiting a legal issue it had previously settled. The March 11 order had halted proceedings in the cases against Ram Rahim, while referring his petition, which questioned whether the state’s consent for a CBI probe could later be withdrawn, to a larger bench.
Sources said that the prosecution sanction has been granted in three cases registered at Bajakhana police station in Faridkot. The file was cleared by the CM, who also holds the portfolio of home minister. It took over two years to clear the file. Ram Rahim, currently serving a 20-year sentence for rape and murder, was on a 20-day parole during the Haryana Assembly elections.
The three FIRs relate to sacrilege incidents that began on June 1, 2015, when a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village. Later, on the night of September 24-25, derogatory posters threatening sacrilege were found in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala villages. On October 12, 2015, torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were discovered near a gurdwara in Bargari. The dera chief was booked under Section 295 of the IPC for causing religious hurt in these cases. The file required the CM’s approval, as the home minister must grant prosecution sanction in such cases, regardless of the accused.
The issue was raised by Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa during the monsoon session of the Vidhan Sabha, where he questioned Mann on the delay in granting the sanction. Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, a former IPS officer who investigated the firing on anti-sacrilege protesters in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015, also raised the issue several times in the assembly.
The controversy dates back to the Punjab government, led by former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, issuing a notification in September 2018 to withdraw the CBI’s consent to investigate the cases. The investigation was handed over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police. Ram Rahim challenged this decision in the High Court, seeking the continuation of the CBI probe into the 2015 sacrilege FIRs.
Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh referenced a January 2019 High Court ruling that upheld the state’s authority to withdraw CBI consent.
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