Seven years after Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim triggered controversy and allegedly hurt Sikh sentiments while personifying as tenth Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh, a Bathinda local court on Thursday dismissed the case.

A case of blasphemy was registered against Sirsa-based Dera chief for hurting religious sentiments in May 2007, by Bathinda police.District and Sessions Judge Tejinder Singh on Thursday accepted the report submitted by the state seeking dismissal of the case. The Judge also accepted the revision plea filed by the Dera chief against an order of a lower court rejecting the police report, seeking dismissal of the case.

Dera head was embroiled in a controversy after he appeared in a newspaper advertisement attired in a dress similar to the tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh on May 13, 2007. After the appearance of the advertisement, the State was hit by sectarian strife in which one person was killed and over 50 injured.

Earlier, when the State had sought dismissal of case, Chief Judicial Magistrate Harjeet Singh had rejected the application.The Court had also ordered prosecution to file the list of witnesses within 15 days against the accused on April 2, 2012. The dismissal of the case was sought on the affidavit submitted by the police on February 4, 2014.

The complainant had only filed an affidavit alleging the blasphemous act and was not an eyewitness to it, according to police sources. The case had been registered under Section 295-A (acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class) on May 20, 2007.According to the complaint submitted by Rajinder Singh Sidhu on May 13, 2007, to the Senior Superintendent of Police, the publication of an advertisement in some daily news papers showing the Dera chief wearing the auspicious dress of Guru Gobind Singh and imitating the guru in all acts.

After few years of registering the case, the Punjab police had field its closure report maintaining that it did not get any information or evidence.Meanwhile, a Sikh lawyer Jaspal Singh Manjhpur and a political activist Baba Hardeep Singh Mehraj, both belonging to Akali Dal Panch Pardhani (ADPP) had moved the court and were successful in getting themselves listed as co-complainants in the case.

It was because of their intervention that the case survived for few more years and the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Raman Kumar issued summons against Dera Sauda chief, which was later challenged in the higher court.According to the advocates, who appeared on behalf of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, SK Garg Narwana, Gurdas Singh Salwara and Kewal Brar, the police were not able to produce charge sheet in the stipulated time.

Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur said that despite all efforts the case did not survive in the court. At the same time, he said that they may consider to file appeal against this decision.It is believed that the shallow investigations by the Punjab police were prime reason for dismissal.