Supreme Court agrees to review Dera Sacha Sauda chief's acquittal in journalist murder case
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition challenging the acquittal of Dera Sacha Sauda leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the 2002 killing of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, accepted a petition that seeks to overturn the lower court's decision clearing Gurmeet Ram Rahim of the murder charge. Rahim, already serving a 20-year term for sexual assault convictions, was found not credible by the High Court regarding a key witness. His counsel, R Basant, argued that the case should be treated as an acquittal and that the state had not appealed. The Supreme Court rejected those arguments and will consider the matter further.
Why it matters
It could reinstate a murder conviction for a powerful sect leader already serving a lengthy sentence.
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