Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday, October 22 granted permission to prosecute Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2015 sacrilege cases, just three days after the supreme court revived the trial against him.
This development follows a decision by a bench of Justices B R Gavai and KV Vishwanathan, who vacated the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial and directed Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to file a response. The supreme court acted on a plea from the Punjab government and will hear the matter again in four weeks.
Punjab’s Advocate General, Gurminder Singh, requested a stay on the high court’s order, which had halted the trial in three cases registered at the Bajakhana Police Station in Faridkot, Punjab. The supreme court, noting that the matter required scrutiny, issued a notice to Ram Rahim Singh.