Gautam Gambhir lauds Gurmeet Ram Rahim's sentencing, calls for resolution on remaining 137458 rape trials

New Delhi: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to 20 years in prison for rape on Monday, a move that brought joy on the faces of millions of including that of Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir.

The sentence was passed by Jagdeep Singh, a special CBI judge, in a makeshift court in the Sunaria jail where Ram Rahim, 50, had been lodged since his conviction on Friday.

Media reports said Ram Rahim broke down and asked for forgiveness with folded hands when the sentence was read out.

He then refused to leave the court room, in the jail library, said the report.

To avoid more trouble it was decided that CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh should pronounce the sentence in the jail, rather than bring Ram Rahim back to his court in Panchkula, near Chandigarh.

Gambhir, in his tweet post hearing the terms of sentence, especially lauded Justice Singh.

"Bravo to d women, CBI court & Justice Singh. Now, let's try 2 resolve over 1,37,458 pending rape trials (NCRB, 2015 data), they r our part too," Gambhir tweeted.

Bravo to d women, CBI court&Justice Singh. Now, let's try 2 resolve over 1,37,458 pending rape trials (NCRB, 2015 data),they r our part too. — Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 28, 2017

The judge pronounced two sentences of 10 years rigorous imprisonment in each of the two rapes that date back to 2002, defence lawyer S K Garg Narwana told reporters.

Ram Rahim was found guilty of rape in a case that stemmed from an anonymous written complaint in April 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers. The case was registered by the CBI in December 2002 on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The CBI filed the chargesheet against the Dera head in Ambala court in July 2007. The chargesheet mentions sexual exploitation of two 'Sadhvis' (women followers) between 1999 and 2001.

(With PTI inputs)