The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the Haryana government if a commonplace should be kept for the trial of all criminal cases registered following the violence on 17 August 2017 after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted for raping two of his disciples in 2002 on premises in Sirsa.

The so-called spiritual Guru was convicted on August 25 for raping two disciples in 2002 at premises in Sirsa. Following the conviction of Dera Chief widespread violence resulted in different parts of Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and even Delhi. More than 35 people died in the violence in Panchkula alone.

A full bench headed by Justice Surya Kant asked the Haryana Government if all cases related to Dera violence in Haryana could be clubbed together for the purpose of the trial at a commonplace. As it will avoid any conflicting orders or confusion.

The bench also asked Anupam Gupta senior advocate to address the court whether such arrangements were tenable under the law. The bench also asked the Haryana government to provide details of all FIRs pending in the state related to the violence.

Around 240 FIRs were registered in Haryana and 200 cases challans have been filed. After the violence around 2,669 people were arrested in different parts of Sirsa, Panchkula, Hisar, Fatehabad, and Karnal.

Court Seeks Report on Dera Run Medical Institutes

The court also sought details about the qualification of the doctors and paramedics employed at the Medial institutes of Dera. These medical institutes are run by Shah Satnam Singh Development and Research Foundation at the Dera premises. The court directed the civil surgeon of Sirsa to verify the qualification of all the medical and para-medical staff working in three health institutes in Sirsa.

These medical institutes are- an allopathic hospital, an ayurvedic hospital, and naturopathy hospital. Besides that, there is also an eye bank, blood bank etc attached to these hospitals. Around 19 doctors and 96 paramedics have been working at the allopathic hospital. Three doctors work at the Ayurvedic hospital and one doctor runs the naturopathy hospital. Every day on an average of 160 people visit these hospitals run by 131 staff employed there permanently.

The government has already formed a similar committee to oversee the functioning of educational institutes.
The court has asked to submit a report to the court when the case next comes up for hearing in July.