Dera chief convicted of rape Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh attempted to prolong the trial against him on trivial grounds and even invited the fury of the High Court, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The newspaper reported that the Dera head filed more than 30 trivial review petitions in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the trial court orders. This means, he filed a review petition every three months since charges were framed against him in September 2008.
However, his tactic did not go well with the High Court. The HC judge once noticed, “The apparent motive of the petitioner, as manifested, is to prolong the trial which is pending for the last nine years,” adding, “The trial court is directed to conclude the trial which is at the final stage, at earliest.”
Ram Rahim was finally convicted of rape by the special CBI Court in Panchukla on Friday and faces jail term of upto 7 years. The court is expected to pronounce the quantum of sentence at 2.30 pm today.
In a similar case, the Supreme Court today questioned the Gujarat government over the slow pace of trial in the rape case involving self-styled godman Asaram Bapu.
The apex court asked the state government to file an affidavit in this regard and posted the matter for further hearing after Diwali.
Two Surat-based sisters had lodged a sexual assault case against the self-styled godman.
(With agency input)
