NEW DELHIi: Supreme Court on Monday admitted a petition challenging acquittal of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sexually assaulting two female disciples, in the 2002 murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana overruled protests by Rahim’s counsel R Basant that it was a case of acquittal and that the state had not filed any appeal against the acquittal.“This matter requires consideration. It is a reversal of conviction (recorded by the trial court). It is not an acquittal affirmed by HC. We are equally conscious that the state (CBI) will not appeal against the acquittal,” it said. The trial court had convicted Rahim and sentenced him to life imprisonment in Jan 2019.

Admitting a petition by Arindam Chhatrapati, the complainant and son of the murdered journalist, the bench requisitioned the trial court records, including witness statements, for scrutiny.

It posted final hearing of the matter in Nov last week.Basant said HC had recorded a categorical finding that the key witness could not be believed at all.“We will examine the special circumstances attending to the examination of the key witness and whether the appreciation of his evidence is appropriate,” responded the bench.The appellant said, “Despite affirming the categorical findings of the trial court on the existence of a conspiracy for the commission of Chhatrapati’s murder and upholding the convictions of the three co-accused under Section 120-B IPC read with Section 302 IPC, HC incorrectly arrived at a conclusion that participation of Baba Gurmeet Singh in the conspiracy is not proved.”Finding lapses in the local police probe, Punjab and Haryana HC had in Nov 2003, almost a year after the murder, transferred the investigations to the CBI. The key witness, referred to by the SC, is the ex-driver of Rahim.