The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
The dera chief, along with three others, was convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula in January 2019.
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On Saturday, a bench of Chief Justice Shail Nagu and Justice Vikram Agarwal set aside the CBI court’s judgment against Ram Rahim, even as it upheld the conviction of the other three – Krishan Lal, Nirmal Singh and Kuldeep Singh alias Kala – in the case.
Dera spokesman Jitender Khurana said, “The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Shail Najoo on Saturday acquitted him (Ram Rahim) of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati’s murder case. However, the bench upheld the conviction of three others in the case.”
A detailed order is awaited.
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Ram Rahim is certain to remain behind bars in Sonaria prison in Rohtak, where he is serving a 20-year prison sentence, sentenced in 2017, for the rape of two of his students. While serving his sentence, the Dera Chief has been granted parole 15 times since his conviction in 2017, most recently a 40-day furlough he received on January 5, 2026.
Chhatrapati was shot at close range outside his home in Haryana’s Sirsa district on 24 October 2002. The attack came months after his newspaper published an anonymous letter detailing the alleged systematic sexual exploitation of sadhvis (girl schoolgirls) by Ram Rahim at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa.
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A year after his death, Chhatrapati’s family approached the Supreme Court seeking to have the case transferred to the CBI. After the CBI took over the investigation, the agency filed a charge in July 2007, naming Ram Rahim as a co-conspirator. In its chargesheet, the CBI said that Dera administrator Krishan Lal gave the pistol used in the attack and a walkie-talkie to the shooters – Nirmal Singh and Kuldeep Singh alias Kala – in the presence of the Dera leader.
Dera Khurana spokesperson praised the Supreme Court ruling, saying: “We have consistently maintained that Guruji (Gurmeet Ram Rahim) had no role in this matter. We welcome and respect the Supreme Court’s decision. He has always had the highest respect and unwavering faith in the judicial system of the country…”
Meanwhile, the victim’s son Anshul Chhatrapati said the family will appeal the verdict. “The Supreme Court ruling is a blow to us, but we respect the decision. However, we will explore the legal remedies available to us and approach the Supreme Court against this ruling.”
He added: “This case did not reach this stage except because of the intervention of the judiciary. My father did not have any enmity with the person who used his gun. He used to publish articles about Ram Rahim. Our battle was against Ram Rahim, and we have always maintained that he was behind it.”
