The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, more than seven years after a special CBI court had found him guilty and awarded life imprisonment. Despite this relief in the murder case, Singh will continue to remain behind bars because he is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence following his conviction in two separate rape cases.
Confirming the High Court’s decision, Singh’s counsel Jitender Khurana stated that the earlier conviction had been set aside and that the court had cleared his client of charges related to the killing of Chhatrapati. The ruling effectively overturns the 2019 verdict delivered by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court that had held Singh and three co-accused guilty.
Along with Singh, the CBI court had also convicted Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh, and Krishan Lal for their roles in the crime. All four had been sentenced to life imprisonment under provisions related to murder and criminal conspiracy in the Indian Penal Code. The Dera chief subsequently challenged the judgment before the High Court, which heard the appeal and had reserved its verdict prior to delivering the acquittal.
Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who edited and published the newspaper Poora Sach, was shot outside his residence in Sirsa, Haryana, in October 2002. He later died from the injuries sustained in the attack. The incident occurred after his publication carried an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of women followers at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters, bringing the organisation under intense scrutiny.
In 2003, Chhatrapati’s family approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking an independent probe and requested that the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The plea was accepted, and the investigation was handed over to the CBI, which later filed its chargesheet in July 2007 after completing its inquiry.
Although acquitted in the journalist’s murder case, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh continues to serve a 20-year sentence awarded in 2017 after he was convicted of raping two of his disciples. Following that conviction, he has been lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana, where he remains incarcerated.
