The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday resumed hearings in the case concerning the large-scale violence and arson that broke out in Panchkula on August 25, 2017, following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. More than 35 people were killed in police firing as followers clashed with security forces, and the Army had to be called in to restore order.

The matter, which has been in court since 2017, was taken up by a special bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj and Justice Vikram Aggarwal. Senior advocate Anupam Gupta, appearing as amicus curiae, opposed any move to refer the issue to a tribunal, describing it as “judicial self-abnegation” , a surrender of the High Court’s constitutional responsibility.

“This is not one of those r

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