Chandigarh, March 7: Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the Ram Chander Chhatrapati murder case. The Bench, while modifying the earlier judgment of the special CBI court, affirmed the life imprisonment of co-accused Nirmal and Kuldeep.
The ruling followed a detailed examination of the evidence, particularly a controversy involving the seals of the container holding the fatal bullet. Defense counsels R. Basant and RS Rai declared that the contents of the evidence container could not have been accessed for forensic marking if the original AIIMS seals remained unbroken. They maintained that this discrepancy cast significant doubt on the assertions made by the prosecution’s forensic expert.
Special public prosecutor Ravi Kamal Gupta and counsel for the CBI argued that the expert’s trial court testimony was clear regarding the examination process. However, the High Court Bench noted that nothing was visible on the soft-lead bullets during their own physical inspection.
Reacting to the acquittal, the Dera Sacha Sauda legal team affirmed that the verdict validates their long-standing claims of innocence. Though cleared in this matter, the Dera chief remains incarcerated due to other criminal convictions. The court was assisted in the proceedings by various senior advocates, while the complainant was represented by senior counsel RS Bains.
