Supreme Court Declines Gurmeet Ram Rahim's Plea To Stay Trial In 2015 Sacrilege Cases

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has moved the Supreme Court seeking vacation of stay imposed on the Punjab and Haryana High Court order which stopped the trial in the 2015 sacrilege cases.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran heard the matter today, pursuant to an application filed by Ram Rahim (for vacation of stay) in Punjab government's plea challenging the High Court's stay on trial. Though a request for stay of the trial was made on his behalf, the bench declined the same.

"The prayer in the interim application cannot be granted without hearing the matter on merits. Rejoinder be filed within a period of 3 weeks from today. Post the SLP for hearing on March 18."

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi (for Ram Rahim) urged that the Supreme Court's stay of the High Court order virtually amounted to allowing the state's appeal. He further pointed out that the state's petition challenged a reference order of the High Court, vide which the matter was referred for consideration by a larger bench.

Rohatgi claimed that in the instant cases, CBI filed a closure report but the state government being "unhappy" continued the investigation after CBI consent was abruptly withdrawn following change in government.

"State of Punjab had sent these cases for investigation to CBI...CBI was looking at these cases. Suddenly after two years, the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution that the consent to CBI should be withdrawn. Midway! This can't be done. Based on that, the state after 3 years, withdrew the consent. CBI still proceeded and filed a closure. They were unhappy with this closure. In this issue, they want the state police", he submitted.

The senior counsel further emphasized that the issue is whether CBI consent could be withdrawn and until the same is decided, the status quo should remain. "By virtue of the stay, the Punjab police comes back and starts investigating" he said.

Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh, on the other hand, urged that the interim order (of stay) was passed in the presence of the other side. Seeking time to file a rejoinder, he prayed that the matter be put up for hearing of the main petition.

Pressing for interim relief, Rohatgi alleged at this point that the Punjab police has picked up a man unrelated to the cases and extracted an extra-judicial confession out of him, which is prejudicial to Ram Rahim. As such, he beseeched the Court to stay the trial until the main petition is heard, or to keep the order staying the High Court order in abeyance.

Hearing the counsels, Justice Gavai asked the AG as to whether chargesheet(s) had been filed in the case. The AG informed that 3 chargesheets have been filed against the accused and the matter is sub judice since 2022. He also referred to other rounds of litigation where the state's notification withdrawing CBI consent was upheld.

"This is the third round of litigation. The present petitioner was arrayed as an accused not by CBI, but by state police. After the matter came to them, he has no locus", the AG submitted.

Ultimately, the matter was posted to March 18 for hearing of the main petition.

Background

At the centre of the controversy are a series of desecration incidents in the state of Punjab that began with the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village of Faridkot in June 2015. Subsequently, in September, handwritten sacrilegious posters against the holy book sprung up in Jawahar Singh Wala and Bargari villages in Faridkot. In October of the same year, several torn angs (pages) of the holy book were found strewn near a gurudwara in Bargari.

As a result of this, massive protests erupted in the state of Punjab. The state police open fire on the protestors, resulting in the death of two agitators resulting in further social and political unrest.

A total of 12 people were named in three interlinked cases related to the theft and desecration of the copy of Guru Granth Sahib. The investigation was handed over to the CBI in November by a previous coalition government of Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party.

In June 2019, the CBI filed a closure report stating that no incriminating evidence was found against followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda, but both the ruling Congress and opposition Shiromani Akali Dal rejected the report. Within months, the Punjab government withdrew the consent allowing the CBI to investigate, and the cases were handed over to a special investigation team (SIT) of the state police.

Trial in all three cases was pending in Faridkot court at the stage of arguments on framing of charges. Marking a complete departure from the outcome of the CBI probe, the SIT named several Dera followers, three national committee members, and the chief of Dera Ram Rahim as accused in the sacrilege cases. Controversial, self-styled Godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was named as the key conspirator by the Punjab Police.

In 2021, Ram Rahim moved the High Court seeking a fair and impartial investigation into the 3 different incidents of sacrilege. The Dera chief challenged the Punjab Government's notification dated 6 September, 2018 vide which it withdrew its consent to transfer the probe to CBI. The plea also sought directions to CBI to continue with the investigation in the sacrilege cases.

In March, 2024, while referring the petition to a larger bench, to determine if the consent given by the State Government for a CBI probe can be withdrawn later, the High Court stayed further proceedings qua Ram Rahim. Against this order, State of Punjab approached the Supreme Court. In October, 2024, the top Court stayed the impugned High Court order.

Case Title: The State of Punjab v. Sant Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Ors., Diary No. 43184-2024