On Friday, the Supreme Court lifted the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with three sacrilege cases from 2015. A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan also issued a notice to Ram Rahim, instructing him to respond within four weeks. The case was heard in response to Punjab’s appeal against the High Court’s decision to halt proceedings against Ram Rahim in cases involving the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikh faith.
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Supreme Court Lifts Stay on Trial Against Gurmeet Ram Rahim in 2015
The cases are linked to the 2015 theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari, located in Faridkot district. Torn pages of the holy scripture were later discovered in Bargari, sparking widespread protests in Faridkot. When the demonstrations turned violent, police opened fire, resulting in the deaths of two people in Behbal Kalan and leaving several others injured in Kotkapura.
Then Court Transfers Ram Rahim’s Trial After Violence
In February 2023, the Court transferred the trial against Ram Rahim and seven Dera Sacha Sauda followers from a court in Faridkot to Chandigarh. The move came after a Dera follower, an accused in the case, was shot dead. In December 2021, Ram Rahim moved the High Court demanding that the CBI probe the three sacrilege FIRs of 2015. The sacrilege issue, along with police firing on protesters, became major election issues in Punjab in the 2017 Assembly polls, which saw the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP failing to return to power.
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