“No parole to Ram Rahim without permission”: Punjab-Haryana HC to Haryana Government

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday gave clear orders to the Haryana Government stating that rape convict Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim cannot receive parole without prior permission from the court. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim, who is supposed to serve a 20-year prison sentence, was given a 50-day parole in January. This was his seventh parole in almost 10 months, and his ninth in the last four years. Before January, he was let out on a 21-day parole in November 2023.

The High Court further directed that the government should ensure that Singh surrenders on March 10, the day his parole is supposed to end. The court also demanded information on other convicts who have been granted paroles in the same way. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) opposing the grant of parole to Ram Rahim.

Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim was convicted by a special CBI court in Haryana in August 2017 for the rape of two of his disciples at his organisation. Following the conviction, violent protests erupted from his supporters, and 28 people were reportedly killed in subsequent clashes. In January 2019, he was further convicted of murdering Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati in 2002 and awarded a life sentence.

Singh was granted parole three times in 2023 – 40 days in January, 30 days in July and 21 days in November.

Prior to that, in 2022 he was granted parole in February, June and October.