In a major legal development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, more than seven years after he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vikram Aggarwal set aside the 2019 conviction of Ram Rahim while hearing appeals filed against the verdict of the special CBI court in Panchkula. The bench allowed the appeal filed by the Dera chief and acquitted him of the charges in the case.
At the same time, the High Court dismissed the appeals filed by two other accused, effectively upholding the findings of the trial court against them. The detailed judgment explaining the reasons for overturning the conviction is expected to be released later.
Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who ran a local newspaper in Sirsa, was shot outside his residence in October 2002 and later succumbed to his injuries. The murder had triggered nationwide attention as Chhatrapati had published reports related to allegations of sexual exploitation inside the Dera Sacha Sauda against Ram Rahim.
Following a prolonged investigation, the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which later prosecuted Ram Rahim and other accused in connection with the killing.
In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim and three others for conspiring in the murder of the journalist and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Ram Rahim is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Haryana and continues to serve prison sentences in other cases, including convictions in rape cases involving two of his followers.
The High Court verdict marks a significant turn in the long running Chhatrapati murder case that has remained one of the most high profile criminal trials linked to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.
