The Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed concerns about Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda and a rape convict who should be serving a 20-year prison sentence, having been granted parole multiple times. In January, the rape convict received a 50-day parole, which marked his ninth release in the previous four years and his seventh in nearly ten months.
The High Court has ordered the state government to ask the court for permission to grant Ram Rahim parole again and has instructed the Haryana government to make sure that the man surrenders on March 10, the day his parole is set to expire.

The court has ordered the state government to provide information as to how many people have been given payroll in this manner. The court was hearing a petition filed by SGPC.

Ram Rahim was given parole on three occasions and was out of jail for 91 days. He was released for 21 days in November, 30 days in July, and 40 days in January – to attend former Dera chief Shah Satnam’s birth anniversary.

The high court also sought answers from the Haryana government over benefits given to the rape convict and how many prisoners received similar treatment. 

Ram Rahim Singh was convicted by a special CBI court in Haryana’s Panchkula in August 2017 for raping two women.