Chandigarh:, March 8 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Saturday acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. The dera chief remains behind bars in Rohtak's Sunaria jail as he is serving a 20-year sentence, awarded in 2017, for the rape of two disciples. Ram Rahim head, along with three others, was originally convicted in the Chhatrapati case by a special CBI court in Panchkula on January 17, 2019. The lower court had sentenced them to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.50,000. While the high court bench, comprising chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Vikram Aggarwal, set aside the verdict against Ram Rahim, it upheld the conviction of three co-convicts- Krishan Lal, Nirmal Singh and Kuldeep Singh alias Kala. The detailed judgment, which will clarify the specific grounds for the acquittal, is yet to be released. Chhatrapati was shot at point-blank range outside his house on October 24, 2002. The attack came months after his newspaper published an anonymous letter detailing the systematic sexual exploitation of sadhvis (female disciples) by the dera chief. Chhatrapati's family had approached the HC in 2003, seeking a transfer of the case to the CBI. The probe in the case was later handed over to the CBI, which filed a chargesheet in July 2007. The agency, in its chargesheet, said that dera manager Krishan Lal had given his licensed revolver and a walkie-talkie to the two shooters, Kuldeep Singh and Nirmal Singh, in the presence of Ram Rahim. "The life of an innocent citizen and an upright, idealistic journalist was snuffed out simply because he dared to write about the activities of powerful Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh," the special CBI court had said while awarding life sentence to dera head in 2019. Ram Rahim and three other convicts had moved the high court in 2019, challenging the CBI court's order and alleging false implication. In the appeal, the dera head had claimed that in the initial chargesheet filed by Haryana Police he was not named as accused and his name was added as accused only after the CBI came into picture as the probe was handed over by the HC in 2003. Ram Rahim had a no reason to murder the journalist, since it was an evening news paper and published what appeared in morning dailies, dera head had argued. Following the ruling, dera spokesperson Jitender Khurana issued a statement welcoming the verdict. "From the beginning, we have consistently maintained that Guruji (Gurmeet Ram Rahim) had no involvement in this matter. We welcome and respect the decision of the high court. He has always had the highest respect and unwavering faith in the judicial system of the country... and this trust will continue in the future as well." Anshul Chhatrapati, the son of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, said: "The high court judgment is a blow to us, but we respect the decision. However, we will explore legal remedies available to us and approach the Supreme Court against this judgment. This case has reached this stage only due to the intervention of the courts. My father had no enmity with the person whose revolver was used. He was publishing articles about Ram Rahim. Our battle was against Ram Rahim, and we have always maintained that he was behind it." Ram Rahim was granted a 40-day parole on January 5, 2026, following which he returned to the jail. It was the 15th time he was released since his conviction in 2017. In the past, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), apex religious body of the Sikhs, and some other Sikh organisations have objected to the grant of frequent parole and furlough to Ram Rahim, some of which have coincided with polls. In May 2024, the HC had similarly acquitted him in the 2002 murder case of former dera manager Ranjit Singh. His appeal against the conviction in rape cases is still pending before the HC. He remains an accused in multiple cases concerning the 2015 sacrilege incidents in Punjab....