New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea challenging the acquittal of controversial self-styled godman, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, of the Dera Sacha Sauda in the Ranjit Singh murder case.

Issuing notice, a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma sought responses from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Ram Rahim and four other accused in the matter.

The matter is likely to be heard next on October 15.

In May this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the appeals moved by Ram Rahim and others who were convicted by a CBI court in Panchkula in 2021.

A bench of Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Lalit Batra of the high court acquitted Avtar Singh, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, and Krishan Lal, all of whom were awarded life sentences along with the self-styled godman.

Despite the acquittal, Ram Rahim remained in prison as he stood convicted in other cases of rape and murder. Former Dera manager Ranjit Singh was shot by four assailants on July 10, 2002, at Khanpur Kolian village in Haryana's Kurukshetra.

In 2021, a special CBI court found Ram Rahim and others guilty of the murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment. It was suspected that Ranjit Singh was murdered because of his alleged role in circulating a letter that narrated how the sect head was sexually exploiting women at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa.

Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati later used the same letter in a news report. He was killed soon after the report was published. Ram Rahim was also convicted on the charges of murdering the journalist.