Gurugram: Dera Sacha Sauda and its controversial chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh are in the news again. This time, over a full-page advertisement.
Two dailies—The Hindu and Dainik Bhaskar—carried the advertisement wherein the Dera defended Ram Rahim against a string of allegations even as multiple criminal cases remain pending before courts.
The advertisement, however, carries a disclaimer stating that the two newspapers have no editorial or journalistic involvement in the content and that it is published for representation purposes only.
That has not stopped adverse reactions from a section of social media users. His followers, on the other hand, are sharing the claims on social media.
Today, certain media outlets prominently published full-page advertisements on their front pages, attempting to portray Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim as a social reformer. pic.twitter.com/SuO1eCvQTs
— Amritsar times (@amritsartimes) September 12, 2026
The advertisement, styled as ‘What is Dera Sacha Sauda? (Facts vs Fiction),’ runs across several sections. It claims the sect was founded in 1948 by Shah Mastana Ji Maharaj and has since ‘freed’ over 7.5 crore people from addiction.
Ram Rahim, according to the advertisement, has personally freed 7.5 crore people from addiction and vices since 23 September, 1990. That was the date when he took over the Dera head from Shah Satnam Singh.
A separate section titled ‘Was there a conspiracy against Guru Ji?’ answers its own question: ‘Yes, absolutely’. It alleges that ‘forces” tried to trap Ram Rahim through false witnesses and false cases, and claims these forces are ‘still engaged in trying to prove this falsehood even today.’
The advertisement elaborates on this claim, alleging that drug mafias and ‘forces’ opposed to the Dera turned against Ram Rahim as he advanced the sect’s anti-addiction campaign.
It states that as people gave up intoxicants and turned to ‘the name of Ram,’ this was ‘unacceptable’ to drug mafias, who allegedly attempted to blow him up and made repeated attempts on his life, but ‘did not succeed’.
After this plot failed, the Dera claims, false witnesses were brought against him and cases were engineered to trap him.
Another topic that the advertisement dwells on is whether the parole and furlough granted to Ram Rahim amount to ‘VIP treatment’.
‘No, not at all,’ it says, and adds that the paroles have been granted strictly within the framework of the Prisoners Act, 1894, and current Haryana government rules.
Last month, rape convict Ram Rahim had stepped out of Rohtak’s Sunaria jail on a 21-day furlough. It was the third such instance this year and overall 17th time in 9 years ever since he was convicted in 2017 for raping two of his disciples. The Dera chief is serving a 20-year sentence.
The Dera cites orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court dismissing a public interest litigation that challenged the paroles, and describes the outcome as having ‘upheld the High Court’s order as correct’.
Further sections list the sect’s humanitarian activities—35 crore 40 lakh trees planted, cleanliness drives in 36 metro cities, 33.85 lakh units of blood donated, and 2,368 free homes built for the needy.
Cases still pending
Ram Rahim’s conviction for raping two women disciples is not among the matters described in the advertisement. Two other major cases tell a different story from the one the advertisement presents.
In the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, a special CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) court convicted Ram Rahim and sentenced him to life imprisonment in January 2019.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted him in that case on 7 March this year, holding that the CBI had coerced a witness into implicating him.
Chhatrapati’s son Anshul moved the Supreme Court against the acquittal. In August, a bench led by the Chief Justice of India listed the appeal for final hearing in November, observing that the acquittal “required consideration” and that the case involved a reversal of a conviction, not merely an appeal against an acquittal.
The CBI has not put up any appeal against Ram Rahim’s acquittal in the Chhatrapati murder case, so far.
As for the 2002 murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh, the High Court acquitted Ram Rahim and four others in May 2024, calling the CBI’s probe “tainted and sketchy”.
The Supreme Court issued notice on the CBI’s appeal against that acquittal in January 2025. The case has not come up for hearing since then.
A separate case, involving the alleged forced castration of around 400 Dera followers, is still being tried before a special CBI court in Panchkula. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against Ram Rahim and two doctors while listing six victims and 58 witnesses.
Ravinder Dhull, a senior lawyer at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, questioned the timing and intent of the advertisement.
“Ram Rahim is a convict serving imprisonment for the rape of his disciples. Even in the murder cases in which he was convicted and subsequently acquitted by the High Court, the appeal against the order in the journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati case and the Ranjit Singh murder case is still pending before the Supreme Court,” Dhull told ThePrint.
The Dera chief is also being tried in the case of forcible castration, the former Additional Advocate General for Haryana said.
“Under these circumstances, such an advertisement could amount to contempt and an effort to influence the courts when cases are pending against him,” he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Dera Sacha Sauda has a new campaign. It shows Ram Rahim as a saviour of widows