Haryana’s Panchkula has become the epicentre of action as a special CBI court will on Friday give its verdict on the 15-year-old rape case against the self-styled godman and Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The states of Punjab and Haryana are already on high alert as thousands of supports of Dera chief have gathered in Panchkula and Sirsa to show solidarity with Ram Rahim and might resort to violence. The situation is no tense that the Centre has extended assistance to maintain law and order following the state government’s request. Even, the Army has been called to assist police and ensure peace tomorrow.
Meanwhile, all eyes will be on Jagdeep Singh, the judge in the CBI special court, who will deliver the judgement in the case against the Dera chief.
Singh’s colleagues in the legal fraternity describe him as “a very competent, tough and upright judge with a no-nonsense attitutde”, according to a Hindustan Times report.
It was in 2016 that Singh was appointed as the CBI special judge – his second posting as a judicial officer. He was earlier an additional district and sessions judge rank official.
Usually, the CBI court is generally given after a lot of checks by the high court administration. But, in Singh’s case, this is his second posting. Before joining the judicial services, he was a Punjab and Haryana high court lawyer.
“Singh likes keeping a low profile and is a man of few words. But all those who know him vouch for his competence and integrity,” a lawyer who has practiced with him was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
After completing his law degree from Punjab University (PU), he took up both civil and criminal cases between 2000 and 2012.
Another judicial officer who has known Singh since his college days said that he was a bright student and is considered a very hardworking and upright officer.
Singh grabbed the headlines in September 2016 when Singh reportedly called up emergency for an ambulance to save the lives of four people who were seriously injured in a road accident. The operator apparently told him, “Will the ambulance come flying?” Unfazed by the comment, Singh played a Good Samaritan and rushed the injured to a hospital in Haryana’s Jind district in a private vehicle.
