Bathinda, Punjab (February 22, 2013): It is learnt that Dera Sauda Sirsa (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been exempted from personal appearance in a case of blasphemy under Section 295-A (Indian Penal Code) against him.
It was pleaded by the dera head that time should be given to him in order to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court for revision of orders by an Additional Sessions Judge.
The exemption was allowed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Harjit Singh to the Dera head. The hearing is supposed to take place as scheduled.
“District Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) had also moved an application seeking six weeks’ time to arrange for video-conferencing of the accused, citing threat to law and order in the district”, Punjab News Line (PNL) has reported.
It is notable that in wake of Dera head’s court appearance on February 22 in a local court Bathinda was fortified with over 10,000 cops.
The police had sealed the state’s borders and erected barricades around the judicial complex in anticipation of dera followers thronging the place.
The FIR against Dera head was lodged in May, 2007. It is notable that the local police had recommended cancellation of the FIR three days before the assembly elections in 2012.