He is the man of the moment. Special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh was flown into Rohtak jail on Monday morning in a helicopter to pronounce the sentence on self-styled godman Ram Rahim Singh. The judge sentenced the ‘godman’ 20-year imprisonment.
Singh, who pronounced Singh guilty of raping two women in a heavily guarded courtroom on Friday, is known for his competence and toughness. Eyewitnesses recall how he didn’t let the tense atmosphere in Haryana’s Panchkula unfaze him as he walked into the court on Friday. A very competent, tough and upright judge with a no-nonsense attitude. That is how Singh is described by his colleagues in the legal fraternity.
An additional district and sessions judge rank official, Singh was designated as the CBI special judge last year. This is his second posting as a judicial officer. Singh joined the Haryana judicial services in 2012 and was posted at Sonepat. The CBI court posting, which is generally given after a lot of checks by the high court administration, is his second posting.
Prior to joining the judicial service, he was a Punjab and Haryana high court lawyer. “Singh likes keeping a low profile and is a man of few words. But all those who know him vouch for his competence and integrity,” said a lawyer who has practiced with him. Singh, who hails from Haryana, took up both civil and criminal cases between 2000 and 2012.
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Singh completed his law degree from Panjab University (PU) around 2000. “He was a bright student,” recalled a Haryana judicial officer, who has known him since his Panjab University days. “He is considered a very hardworking and upright officer,” he added.
Jagdeep hit the headlines in September 2016, when on his way from Hisar to Panchkula, he played a Good Samaritan and rushed four people, who were seriously injured in a road accident, to a hospital in Jind district. As per reports, he first called up emergency to rush an ambulance, but when the operator told him, “Will the ambulance come flying?”, he stopped a private vehicle and himself took the injured to the hospital.