Punjab & Haryana HC: Highly improbable that Ram Rahim replaced with dummy

However, he was released on parole in June 2022 and at present, he is out of jail. During the trial of the aforesaid cases, his identity was established and even when he was lodged in jail, his identity was verified by the jail authorities. He was released on parole for one month just 15-20 days ago and on expiry of the said period, he has to surrender before the jail authorities concerned to serve the remaining sentence.

On the petitioners’ apprehension that Dera functionaries, including Priyanka Taneja alias Honeypreet and Dr Prithvi Raj Nain, had replaced the Dera chief with a dummy person, Justice Singh said, “Undoubtedly, we are not living in a virtual world. We are living in the real world, which is reality. The allegations raised by the petitioners in the present petition appear to be unnatural and irrational and even can be considered as a figment of someone’s imagination.”

Justice Singh added, “It is highly improbable that original Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan has been replaced with his replica/duplicate having similar physical appearance by respondents No. 4 and 5 (Priyanka Taneja alias Honeypreet and Dr Prithvi Raj Nain) or the state government, as alleged by the petitioners. The present petition is not based on any logic or scientific reasoning.”

Thus, holding that the petition appears to have been filed with a motive to gain publicity/sympathy of the general public, the HC dismissed the plea, adding that “no ground for interference is made out”.

The petition had sought directions to “verify the authenticity” of Dera chief (who is out on parole), as the petitioners alleged that the state government, in collusion with some Dera functionaries, had replaced him with a “dummy person”.