Ram Rahim, lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria Jail, is serving a 20-year sentence handed out to him in 2017 for allegedly raping two of his disciples.
Last September on the eve of the release of Gurmeet Ram Rahim's MSG: The Warrior Lion Heart, Rediff.com's Patcy N and Afsar Dayatar attended a huge concert in Sirsa, Haryana, to promote the film.
Justice Jagdeep Singh read out the verdict as soon as the special CBI Court began the hearing on the case on Friday.
The move came days after the Supreme Court vacated the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial in three sacrilege cases.
Honeypreet, in her thirties, accompanied Ram Rahim Singh when he was brought to the special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula for the pronouncement of the verdict in the 15-year-old rape case on Friday.
Dera Saccha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday deferred a premiere of his controversial film "Messenger of God" in which he claims he has not tried to project himself as God or hurt any religious sentiments.
'Insulting the law, instigating violence, living ostentatiously and preaching godliness?' 'This vulgar hypocrisy needs peoples' rejection and a revolt.' 'If people can't speak out, then it will be a hypocrisy that they expect the government to act and speak for them,' says Tarun Vijay.
Dera Sacha Sauda, a quasi-religious cult with hundreds of thousands of followers, offers a wide variety of products and educational and health services, its website states.
'We realised that the government and police were shielding the Dera chief.' 'From 2002 to now, irrespective of which political party, the Dera has always been protected.'
Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, is no regular godman.
'The way the anticipation is built up for Gabbar Singh's introduction scene with sound, image and details of his personality, like the combat boots he wears.' 'The camera comes so close -- not a tele lens shot, but a wide-angle close-up -- that you can almost smell Gabbar's breath.'
The sect chief said this was only a media speculation, and that he is, was, and will continue to head the sect, which has a large number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
Badal's resignation came days after he urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to pronounce his punishment for religious misconduct charges, saying more than two months have passed since he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct).
Swami Agnivesh speaks about the Dera-Sikh standoff, which he is attempting to resolve.
The prohibitory orders would be in force till September 8, a senior police officer told PTI.
The police on Monday said there is no immediate possibility of giving Dera Saccha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh a clean chit in the murder of a 40-year-old Sikh man who was gunned down by the spiritual guru's private security guard last week.
Sidhu in a press conference on Friday had questioned the Channi-led state government over the steps taken for the delivery of justice in the cases of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and drug trafficking.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been accused of hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.
Known for his flashy outfits, the Dera chief was attired in a white kurta-pyjama with matching white shoes as the judge sentenced him to 20 years in jail.
Comedian Kiku Sharda who features in the hit television show Comedy Nights With Kapil has been arrested for imitating self-styled spiritual guru Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, according to news agency ANI.
Bareta, who was one of the accused in the incidents related to the desecration of a religious text in Faridkot in 2015, was declared a proclaimed offender.
Haryana and Punjab remained on high alert with officials warning that violent miscreants will be shot at sight.
The actor's arrest had sparked social media outrage with people calling it an attack on the freedom of speech.
Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has apologised for dressing up like Guru Gobind Singh.
The list includes names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Rampal, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai.
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 situation in Sirsa remained tense but under control, according to police.
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.
The allegation is that the Dera plotted against VVIPs like Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and several others.
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.
'It was frightening to feel that you were in a war-like situation.' 'Why do I have to feel unsafe in my own country?' asks angry Panchkula resident Raashi Sethia.
The Punjab government on Saturday decided to put a ban on the screening of the controversial movie 'Messenger of God' featuring Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, in apprehension of breach of peace.
'The Badals have made the Akali Dal a family enterprise and undermined the Sikh faith. They have no right to call themselves Akalis. We have approached the Election Commission to register ourselves as the Akali Dal with a different nomenclature. We will impress on people's minds that we are the real Akali Dal' Sai Manish reports on the fight for supremacy over the Akali Dal.
Even as the home ministry sent out alerts to states over Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim's movie, Messenger of God, the Censor Board has refused to certify the film taking exception to the spiritual leader depicting himself as god on the silver screen.
The court of judicial magistrate first class Rahul Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Prithi Singh a resident of Baghapurana and Amardeep Singh and Mithu Singh, both residents of Malke village.
The babas' vote banks and the politicians' greed for en bloc votes, is the curse of Punjab and Haryana.
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