SIT free to quiz Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh again in Rohtak jail: HC

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 6

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear that the special investigating team could again interrogate Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Sunaria Jail at Rohtak in connection with a sacrilege case.

Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan asserted the court was conscious of the fact that directing Ram Rahim’s appearance before a trial court in Punjab could create law and order problems.

The assertion came on two petitions filed by Ram Rahim through senior advocates R Venkataramani and Vinod Ghai with counsel Kanika Ahuja, Kirti Ahuja and other advocates. Ram Rahim had moved the High Court after a Faridkot court issued his production warrants in the matter.

Justice Sangwan asserted it was a matter of fact that large-scale violence had erupted, causing loss of “hundreds of crores of rupees” to the state exchequer through damage to public and private properties when the petitioner was convicted by the CBI court at Panchkula in 2017.

“Therefore, this court is conscious of the fact that if the petitioner is directed to appear before the trial court in Punjab, it may create a lot of law and order problems, especially in view of various recent incidents in Punjab due to forthcoming Assembly election and the state police are already under heavy pressure,” Justice Sangwan observed.

Fixing the case for April 21 for further hearing, Justice Sangwan added it would be open for the SIT to again interrogate the petitioner, if so required, by giving advance information to the Sunaria jail superintendent. The direction came on Advocate-General DS Patwalia’s request that the SIT was still investigating the case.