Head of Dera Sacha Sauda granted 21-day leave, marking his 10th furlough in four years.

As the Assembly polls in Haryana draw closer, the possibility of a parole for rape convict and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim seems to be looming. This would be the tenth time in the last four years that he has been granted a 21-day furlough, as he continues to serve a 20-year sentence for the rape of two of his disciples.

After his release, Ram Rahim will be staying at his sect's Dera in Bagphat, Uttar Pradesh. This comes just a few months after he was previously granted a 50-day parole in January. However, the recent decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court requires that any application for temporary release must be considered without any bias, under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners Act, 2022.

Earlier in June, Ram Rahim had approached the high court, seeking a 21-day furlough. In his plea, he highlighted the various welfare activities carried out by his sect, for which he needed to conduct a motivational drive. However, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had filed a petition against his temporary release, citing concerns over his multiple sentences for serious offences such as murder and rape. They argued that his release could threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India and disrupt public order.

In February, the High Court had instructed the Haryana government not to grant any further parole to Ram Rahim without their permission. Despite this, in November 2023, he was once again released for 21 days. Last year, he had already been granted parole three times, adding up to a total of 205 days.

Ram Rahim has been in the Sunaria jail since August 2017, after being convicted for rape and murder. He has a large following in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. According to the jail manual, a convict is entitled to a 70-day parole in a year. However, Ram Rahim's parole and furlough requests seem to have surpassed this limit.

In August 2017, he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for the rape of two women. In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula also sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, 16 years ago. These convictions had sparked widespread violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, resulting in the deaths of 41 people and injuries to over 260 others.

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