CHANDIGARH: Justice Surya Kant, a senior judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday refused to to take up the the bail plea of  Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in two cases of murder on the plea that he was Advocate General of Haryana in 2003 when these cases had come up for hearing.

Justice Surya Kant, had on Wednesday heard heard arguments of the CBI and defnce counsel for three hours on the bail application relating to two cases of murder of Dera Manager Ranjit Singh and Sirsa based journalist Ram Chander Chatterpatti. He however told the lawyers of both sides that when he summoned the record of the case he came to know that he was the AG of Haryana when this case was filed. He referred the issue to Chief Justice Vijender Jain.

The Chief Justice later transferred the matter to Justice L N Mittal who had on August 20 issued notice for August 28 to the CBI on Sadhvi, which was listed before him.

The bail plea in the two murder cases has also been posted for August 28 alongwith the bail plea in the rape case before Justice Mittal.

The CBI had filed chargesheets in a CBI court at Ambala last month against the Chief of Sirsa-based Dera and ten others in connection with the murders of Chatterpatti and Ranjit Singh and alleged rape of a disciple about five years back.