The Supreme Court on Friday lifted the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial against jailed Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with the 2015 Bargari sacrilege cases , Live Law reported.
The Bench of BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan was hearing an appeal by the Punjab government's plea against stay of trial qua Dera Sacha Sauda chief.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had on March 11 stayed proceedings in three cases of sacrilege.
During the Supreme Court hearing, Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh argued that the 6 September notification has been upheld by the Supreme Court and is valid in the eyes of the law.
Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur, representing the respondent(s), argued that the High Court had simply followed the alternative prayer made by the State of Punjab. She clarified that the issue involves two sets of cases: one related to police firing incidents and the other related to sacrilege. She also mentioned that divergent views on the issue led to the High Court referring the matter to a larger bench.
Mathur further stated that the matter is scheduled before the Division Bench today and would have been resolved by now if the state had not sought adjournments.
"How can the ... ignore the order of the coordinate bench?" Live law quoted Justice Gavai as asking.
The Punjab AG countered Mathur's submission, stating that all cases were included in the notification. The bench ultimately issued notice and stayed the impugned order.
The controversy started way back when the bir, or Saroop, a physical copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, was stolen from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district on June 1, 2015. On September 25, some derogatory posters were put up at Bargari and Burj Jawahar, and torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were found strewn in the streets at Bargari on October 12 that year.
In response to the sacrilege, a large crowd gathered at a location approximately 15km from Kotkapura. In the early morning of October 14, the police took action, resulting in Ajit Singh sustaining a bullet wound to his leg and others being injured. Later that day, at nearby Behbal Kalan, the police opened fire on protesters, resulting in the deaths of Krishan Bhagwan Singh and Gurjit Singh.
In all three cases of sacrilege, charge-sheets were filed against several followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, including its leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim. In the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan cases, charge-sheets were also filed against numerous individuals, including the late former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, the then state home minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, the then Punjab Police DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, and the then IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal.
The Bench of BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan was hearing an appeal by the Punjab government's plea against stay of trial qua Dera Sacha Sauda chief.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had on March 11 stayed proceedings in three cases of sacrilege.
During the Supreme Court hearing, Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh argued that the 6 September notification has been upheld by the Supreme Court and is valid in the eyes of the law.
Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur, representing the respondent(s), argued that the High Court had simply followed the alternative prayer made by the State of Punjab. She clarified that the issue involves two sets of cases: one related to police firing incidents and the other related to sacrilege. She also mentioned that divergent views on the issue led to the High Court referring the matter to a larger bench.
Mathur further stated that the matter is scheduled before the Division Bench today and would have been resolved by now if the state had not sought adjournments.
"How can the ... ignore the order of the coordinate bench?" Live law quoted Justice Gavai as asking.
The Punjab AG countered Mathur's submission, stating that all cases were included in the notification. The bench ultimately issued notice and stayed the impugned order.
The controversy started way back when the bir, or Saroop, a physical copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, was stolen from a gurdwara in Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot district on June 1, 2015. On September 25, some derogatory posters were put up at Bargari and Burj Jawahar, and torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were found strewn in the streets at Bargari on October 12 that year.
In response to the sacrilege, a large crowd gathered at a location approximately 15km from Kotkapura. In the early morning of October 14, the police took action, resulting in Ajit Singh sustaining a bullet wound to his leg and others being injured. Later that day, at nearby Behbal Kalan, the police opened fire on protesters, resulting in the deaths of Krishan Bhagwan Singh and Gurjit Singh.
In all three cases of sacrilege, charge-sheets were filed against several followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, including its leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim. In the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan cases, charge-sheets were also filed against numerous individuals, including the late former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, the then state home minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, the then Punjab Police DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, and the then IG Paramraj Singh Umranangal.
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