Punjab and Haryana High Court quashes FIR against Gurmeet Ram Rahim in hurting religious sentiments case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently quashed a first information report (FIR) registered against Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim who was booked for the offence of hurting religious sentiments [Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan v. State of Punjab and another].Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul found that the comments made by Ram Rahim while narrating a story connected to Sant Kabir Das and Guru Ravidas, was rooted in historical resources and that there was no evidence to suggest that his remarks were meant to insult to religious sentiments or beliefs. The judge concluded that Rahim's remarks did not indicate the commission of an offence under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code (IPC)..Ram Rahim, who is serving out is prison sentence in different rape and murder cases, was booked in March this year over remarks made in a speech during a Satsang (spiritual discourse) in 2016. He had mentioned an incident involving Sant Kabir Das and Guru Ravidas, while discussing the relationship between a spiritual master and his disciples..After examining the evidence on record, the Court found there was no mens rea on the part of Dera Chief “nor any distortion or exaggeration of the incident pertaining to Sant Kabir Das and Guru Ravidas, to such an extent, that it could have offended their followers.”.The Court also underscored that Section 295A does not punish every act of insult but only penalises deliberate and aggravated acts of insult aimed at outraging religious feelings of the community.It explained that an insult should be shown to be intentional and driven by a malicious motive to bring a charge under Section 295A, IPC.“A mild criticism or some expression that does not grossly offend the religious sensibilities of a community, cannot be criminalized. The provisions of Section 295A of the IPC are intended to strike a balance between freedom of speech and the protection of religious sentiments,” the Court observed..Dealing with the case on merits, the Court looked into the discourse delivered by Ram Rahim and the extracts from certain books where the incident concerning Sant Kabir Das and Guru Ravidas found mention.It found that the gist of the stories narrated by Ram Rahim during the discourse and the information available in various historical texts were largely similar.“The only key distinction, if any, is that the petitioner has used local colloquial terms while delivering the discourse. However, this in no way would imply any disrespect, malice or intentional affront to the followers of Sant Kabir Das and Guru Ravidas,” Justice Kaul concluded..The Court also noted that the complainant while lodging the FIR had selectively extracted disconnected segments of Rahim's speech and presented them without proper context. .The Court further noted that neither the State nor the complainant had contested the contents of the historical texts in which the stories referred to by Rahim were mentioned. “Since the narrative is not a product of the petitioner's imagination and does not contain any exaggerated elements, it cannot be said to have been delivered with any malicious intent,” the bench said..Moreover, the Court pointed out that the discourse was delivered in 2016 and no complaint was received on this issue for seven years before a complaint was made in 2023..Therefore, the Court proceeded to quash the FIR registered at Police Station Patara, District Jalandhar Rural..Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur and Advocates Amit Tiwari, Harish Chabra, Abhishek Sanghi and Jitender Khurana represented Gurmeet Ram Rahim.Additional Advocate General Gaurav Garg Dhuriwala represented the State of Punjab.Advocate Navraj Singh represented the complainant..[Read Judgment]