Dad of 2 daughters, Ram Rahim could not adopt Honeypreet

Sushil Manav

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Tribune News Service

Sirsa, September 1

Touted as the adopted daughter of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Honeypreet could not legally have been adopted by him under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, say legal experts.

In the news since she was seen accompanying Ram Rahim to Panchkula and later to Rohtak after his conviction, Honeypreet is now wanted by the police for reportedly plotting the dera chief’s escape with the Panchkula police having issued lookout notices for her.

“The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, states in section 11(ii) that if the adoption is of a daughter, the adoptive father or mother must not have a Hindu daughter or son’s daughter (whether by legitimate blood relation or by adoption) living at the time of adoption,” says HS Sandhu, a senior advocate in the district courts in Fatehabad.

Ram Rahim has two daughters, Charanpreet Kaur and Amarpreet Kaur, and hence, he could not have legally adopted Honeypreet. Section 11(iii) says if the adoption is by a man and the person to be adopted is a woman, the adoptive father must be at least 21 years older than the person to be adopted, says Sandhu.

“Ram Rahim celebrated his 50th birthday with fanfare in August, when Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma gifted him a cheque for Rs 51 lakh. Honeypreet’s profile shows that she is 35 years old,” says Sandhu. Born in 1982, she was married to Vishwas Gupta by Ram Rahim in 1999, making the dera chief liable for marriage of a minor.

Lekh Raj Dhot, a senior advocate in the district courts in Sirsa, maintains that Ram Rahim did not legally adopt Honeypreet and was merely showing her as his adopted daughter to the public. “Honeypreet’s husband had moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2011, accusing the dera chief of sexually exploiting his wife. She had accused her husband of harassment for dowry. In the petitions in the Sirsa courts, her real name Priyanka Taneja was mentioned and not Honeypreet,” says Dhot.

He adds that her father’s name mentioned in the court record was Ramanand Taneja and Ram Rahim’s name did not figure anywhere. Gupta had later withdrawn the petition after an out-of-court settlement. Honeypreet describes herself on Twitter as “Papa’s angel, philanthropist, director, editor, actress and passionate to transform my rockstar papa’s directions into actions”.

Kanchan Munjal, administrator of Springbells Senior Secondary School, where Honeypreet, then known as Priyanka, did her schooling, remembers her as a calm and simple girl and an average student. “I remember that she participated in a group dance in our annual function once, but not as the main dancer,” she says.