Chandigarh, June 30
Has Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh tendered an apology? If arguments on a petition moved by him in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for anticipatory bail yesterday are any indication, he admits that he has tendered an apology.
The court in its order held that the petitioner, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, never represented himself to be Guru Gobind Singh. “It is also submitted that the petitioner even tendered apologies and clearly stated that he never intended to hurt the religious feelings of the Sikh community,” order of Justice L.N. Mittal said.
Since the petitioner in the case is Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and not Dera Sacha Sauda, arguments given in the court on his behalf clarify position as to who has apologised, the chief or the dera, over the controversy generated by May 13 advertisements in various newspapers by the dera.
Even in his petition, the dera chief held that he “never spoke against any Sikh or religion. Guru Gobind Singh is the guru of all human beings and the petitioner himself follows the principles laid down by him. The petitioner never wore a blue dress. The attire worn by the petitioner did not resemble the attire of the Sikh guru. The petitioner did not wear or copied the attire deliberately or with the malicious intention to outrage the religious feelings of any section, class or community”.
He further stated, “In the interest of peace, the dera had even issued apologies in order to defuse the matter, which had not been accepted by the Sikh clergy. It was after the rejection of the apology that the government of Punjab has now issued sanction, paving the way for the arrest of the petitioner.”
Now, when the petitioner has himself admitted to tendering apologies in the case, it should assuage the hurt feelings of the Sikh community, argued a senior lawyer. The conditional bail order carries the admission of apology by the petitioner and now it is a matter of record, he added.
