Special Judge, CBI Court, R K Saini framed charges against the five -- Kishan Lal, Avtar Singh, Inder Saini, Jasbir Singh and Sabdil Singh -- in the Ranjeet murder case.
An image of Swami Agnivesh with the Sikh clergy.
Abhijit Bhagat, a trustee and vice-chairman of the Dera, moved a special leave petition before apex court that was heard by a bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice D K Jain.
Police on Monday lathicharged Sikh protestors who tried to take out a procession defying prohibitory orders to protest against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's alleged insult to tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
One person was killed on Friday in firing by a bodyguard of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh, which is at loggerheads with the Sikh clergy, during clashes between Sikhs and supporters of the group in a mall in a north-east Mumbai suburb, police said. The clashes occurred during a visit by Singh in the Nirmal Lifestyles mall in suburban Mulund late on Friday evening, they said.
Special CBI Judge R K Saini, who on Monday reserved his order after the defence concluded arguments, allowed the regular bail plea as his 'prima facie involvement' in the three cases had not been established, Singh's lawyer Jasmir Singh told media persons in Ambala.
A local court on Thursday extended till October 15 the interim bail given to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in three cases of murder and sexual harassment
The allegation is that the Dera plotted against VVIPs like Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and several others.
A special CBI team, escorted by heavily armed police, reached the Dera headquarters in Sirsa on Saturday morning and was made to wait for over three hours before the notice could be served to the Dera chief in his gufa (cave), CBI sources said.
The government had given the nod for his arrest.
Acting on the court's directive, the Punjab government had on Wednesday given the go-ahead for the arrest and prosecution of Dera Sacha Sauda head.
Emerging from a meeting of Akal Takht in Amritsar, jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti told reporters that "the fresh note received from Dera head neither accepts his sin nor promises not to repeat such act again."
Top Sikh clerics on Tuesday met to decide the future course of action against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the wake of an apology tendered by him for dressing like Guru Gobind Singh.
The Sikh high priests have called for a Punjab bandh on May 22.
The action came a day after the Dera Sacha Sauda expressed regret over "the chain of events" leading to violence in Punjab and said its head never intended to imitate Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru.
The matter was raised by Dr Rattan Singh, member of Lok Sabha from Tarn Taran and Saranjit Singh Dhillon, who alleged that the Congress party was behind engineering violence against the Akalis.
The Dera head had been accused by the CBI of two murders -- Dera manager Ranjit Singh and scribe Ram Chander Chattarapati -- besides rape of his disciple.
"I thought that rediff.com was only a portal and had nothing to do with news," he said.
Talking about the earlier two apologies sent by the Dera Sacha Sauda, Vedanti described them as mere 'press notes' and alleged the language used in the text was not proper.
Who controls the government in Punjab?
The Dera's sprawling headquarters include an ostentatious '7-star MSG resort' with replicas of Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Kremlin and Disney World inside.
The Dera had approached the apex court last Friday after the Akal Takht, the highest religious body of Sikhs, served an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down all Deras in the state by May 27.
The cases relate to the murder of a Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chatterpatti and Dera Manager Ranjit Singh besides other related cases.
Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has apologised for dressing up like Guru Gobind Singh.
As the Sikh's highest temporal seat gave an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down the Deras by May 27, it rejected the regret expressed by Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
'I want to assure the country that no country, no government can tolerate anybody taking the law into their hands, whether it is an individual or a group.'
We've seen some cool dance moves this year. And then, we've seen these!
In case a shopkeeper does not have any change at his disposal if a customer pays Rs 100 for an item that costs Rs 70, the latter may have to make do with three plastic tokens of Rs 10 value each .
The high court also took note of Khattar's statement on Friday in which he blamed anti-social elements for the violence, which also spilled over into neighbouring Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi.
State govt said it is not averse to seeking Army's help to maintain law and order.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
Deras like Sacha Sauda made the poor feel secure, cared for, loved, provided a support system and gave them dignity, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
The babas' vote banks and the politicians' greed for en bloc votes, is the curse of Punjab and Haryana.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said no loss of life was reported in any of the minor incidents reported in some parts of Punjab.
After censor board chief Leela Samson, another board member Ira Bhaskar has decided to resign over the state of affairs in the running of the statutory body.
As a book offering "dramatised biography" of Congress President Sonia Gandhi hit stands in India, the party on Friday asserted it could take legal action if the contents of the book were "objectionable".
Watch the Rockstar Baba's latest film only if you need some comic relief, warns Prasanna D Zore.
Supporters of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda sect blocked rail and road traffic at various places in Punjab for the second day on Sunday, demanding that cinema halls screen sect leader Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh's film MSG-2.
MSG 2 is a bizarre experience, says Raja Sen.
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