SC Issues Notice In SLP Against Acquittal Of Baba Ram Rahim In 2002 Case For Murder Of Manager Ranjit Singh

The Bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma ordered, “Permission to file SLP is granted…Issue notice, returnable after four weeks.”

Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared for the Petitioner.

The case of the prosecution was that one Joginder Singh i.e. the complainant made a statement to the police that on July 10, 2002, while he was in his fields at about 05:00 p.m., his son Ranjit Singh brought tea for the labourers working in the fields and after giving tea, Ranjit Singh left the fields when four persons with pistols in their hands came out of the fields and fired at Singh. Singh was taken to LNJP Hospital, Kurukshetra, where he was declared dead.

The complainant raised suspicion that Ram Kumar Sarpanch and Raj Singh son of Sahdev Singh Malik, in conspiracy with other persons including Baba Gurmeet Singh, got his son killed as they have a dispute with him since the Panchayat elections and had been threatening him.

On the complaint, an FIR was registered under Section(s) 120-B, 302, 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Investigation conducted by the CBI disclosed that accused Krishan Lal, Prabandhak of Dera; Jasbir Singh, an active follower of the Dera and Sabdil Singh, gunman of Baba Gurmeet Singh, Chief of the Dera, suspected Ranjit Singh to be behind the anonymous complaint of sexual exploitation of Sadhvis by Baba Gurmeet Singh and therefore, visited the house of Ranjit Singh and threatened him to apologize to Baba Gurmeet Singh for circulating the said complaint or otherwise they had the orders of Baba Gurmeet Singh to kill him and when Ranjit Singh did not agree to apologize, accused Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh and Sabdil Singh in conspiracy with other accused persons eliminated Ranjit Singh.

The High Court had, inter alia, observed the following, while acquitting Baba Gurmeet Singh and others: 1. Blemished eye witness account, 2. Strong reasons for disbelieving the evidentiary worth of testification given by one witness, 3.Vague identification of two accused, 4. Effect of non-recording of disclosure statement of the accused and the effect of non-makings of any recoveries at their respective instances to the investigating officer concerned, 5. Ballistic Report concluded that the alleged weapon was never used for the commission of the crime, 6. Lapses in the investigation, 7. Deceptive answers in the Polygraph test.

The High Court had held, “The instant case is a stark portrayal of the necessity of Courts of law making an incisive and objective analyses, of the evidence as exist on record, rather than the said objective analyses becoming attempted to become stultified, through a pro active media trial becoming made of the purported incriminatory role of the accused vis-a-vis the crime event. Moreover, media trials are not at all required to be the guiding regimen for the making of objective evaluations of evidence on record, as the making of objective evaluations vis-a-vis the evidence as exist on record, is required to be rested on applying to the evidence on record, thus the strictest principles of evidentiary logic. However, the intellectual strength of the investigating officer appears to become staticised by the glare of media publicity, whereunder came the crime event. Resultantly, for reasons (supra), the investigating officer(s) carried out a tainted and sketchy investigations into the crime event, besides also they collected evidence which is unworthy of credence becoming meted theretos.”

The Special CBI Court at Panchkula had convicted Baba Gurmeet Singh for the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.

Accordingly, the Apex Court will now hear the matter on a further date.

Cause Title: Jagseer Singh v. Baba Gurmeet Singh @ Maharaj Gurmeet Singh Respondent(S) @ Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh & Ors.

Appearances:

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, Advocates Hetvi Patel, Nayab Gohar and Satya Mishra

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