SC lifts stay on proceedings against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2015 sacrilege case

Supreme Court on Friday has lifted the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial proceedings against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the jailed head of Dera Sacha Sauda, in connection with a 2015 sacrilege case involving the desecration of a holy book.

The court has also issued a notice to Ram Rahim Singh in response to a petition filed by the Punjab government, challenging the High Court’s decision to stay the trial.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan also issued notice to the self-styled godman on the appeal filed by Punjab government against stay on trial by High Court in the case.


In March, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed proceedings against Singh in the three sacrilege cases.

The cases were filed after several incidents in Bargari, Faridkot district, where the scripture of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs, was allegedly desecrated and had gone missing.

In December 2021, Ram Rahim moved the High Court, demanding that the CBI probe the three sacrilege FIRs of 2015. The High Court then stayed the proceedings in the case.

The cases against Ram Rahim are related to the 2015 sacrilege incidents reported in the Faridkot district of Punjab.

Parts of Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered in village Bargari in Faridkot on October 12, 2015, and an FIR was registered under sections 295, 120-B of IPC at Police Station Bajakhana.

Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year sentence for rape and also convicted for murder.

(With inputs from ANI)