Chandigarh, March 10: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish his involvement beyond reasonable doubt.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vikram Aggarwal delivered the verdict on March 7, setting aside the life sentence imposed on Ram Rahim by a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2019.
While granting relief to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, the High Court upheld the conviction of three other accused in the case. The detailed 113-page judgment was made public on Monday.
Court Finds Evidence Insufficient
In its ruling, the bench observed that the prosecution had failed to substantiate allegations of conspiracy against Ram Rahim.
“In the considered opinion of this court, the prosecution was not able to prove its case against A1 (Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh) beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas it was able to do so in the case of A2 to A4,” the court stated.
The bench further noted that under established legal principles, when two reasonable possibilities emerge—one indicating guilt and the other innocence—the accused must be given the benefit of doubt.
Key Witness Testimony Rejected
A major factor behind the acquittal was the court’s rejection of the testimony of Khatta Singh, the prosecution’s key witness who had been presented as the sole witness to the alleged conspiracy.
The court held that his statements were inconsistent and unreliable. According to the bench, the witness “remained silent for several years and then kept shifting positions like a ping-pong ball,” raising serious concerns about the credibility of his testimony.
The High Court also dismissed his claim that he had previously remained silent due to threats from Ram Rahim. It noted that in earlier statements recorded in connection with another murder case involving former Dera manager Ranjit Singh, the witness had not implicated Ram Rahim in the journalist’s killing.
Court Criticises CBI Investigation
The bench also expressed strong reservations about the manner in which the CBI conducted the investigation. It observed that the agency may have exerted pressure on the witness while attempting to conclude the probe.
“This court will not hesitate in holding that it appears that he was coerced by CBI into making a statement as CBI was under pressure to conclude the investigation,” the judgment noted.
The court also pointed out that Ram Rahim’s name did not surface in the investigation for several years after the crime. He was named as an accused only in 2007—nearly five years after the incident—following the recording of Khatta Singh’s statement.
Crucial Witness Not Examined
Another significant lapse highlighted by the court was the prosecution’s failure to examine a key witness—the police officer who recorded the statement of the injured journalist at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences after the shooting.
The bench described the omission as “extremely strange,” noting that the officer’s testimony could have been vital in establishing the circumstances surrounding the crime.
Possibility of Independent Action by Followers
The High Court further observed that as a prominent religious leader with a large following, Ram Rahim had both supporters and critics. It noted that the trial court should have explored the possibility that the crime might have been carried out independently by overzealous followers rather than on his direct instructions.
The bench remarked that followers of religious sects sometimes cross legal boundaries in the name of faith, and this possibility had not been adequately examined during the trial.
Background of the Case
Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, editor of the Sirsa-based newspaper Poora Sach, was shot outside his residence in October 2002 after publishing an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of women followers at the Dera headquarters.
The case was later transferred to the CBI, and in January 2019 a special CBI court convicted Ram Rahim along with three others, sentencing them to life imprisonment.
Despite the acquittal in the murder case, Ram Rahim remains lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak. He has been serving a 20-year prison sentence since 2017 after being convicted of raping two of his disciples.
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