15th parole for Dera chief

The release on parole of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is serving a life sentence for murder and a 20-year jail term for rape, for an astonishing 15th time since his conviction in 2017, is reflective of a flawed system. With this 40-day parole, Ram Rahim will have spent over 400 days out of jail. Lodged in the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak, Ram Rahim’s plea to be allowed to attend the January 25th birth anniversary celebration of the Dera’s second head, Shah Satnam Singh, was approved by the Rohtak Divisional Commissioner.

Earlier, he was granted parole for another 40 days in August 2025 to celebrate his own birthday. In 2025, he received parole for 30 days in January, just ahead of the Delhi elections, and a furlough for 21 days in April. In 2024, he was allowed 20 days parole on October 1, days before the Haryana Assembly polls. In August that year he was granted a 21-day furlough. He was also permitted a three-week furlough from February 7, 2022, two weeks before the Punjab Assembly election.  

The timing of his paroles and furloughs should have raised questions, but given the clout of the Dera Sacha Sauda and Ram Rahim’s enormous popularity among a section of the populace, political parties have generally stayed away from the issue. Only some Sikh organisations, like the SGPC and activists, have criticised the alleged preferential treatment for Ram Rahim and accused the ruling party of using parole as a weapon for political leverage in Haryana and Punjab, where the Dera chief has a large number of followers.

Ram Rahim was convicted for the rape of two of his women disciples in 2017 and, in 2019, for the murder of a journalist 16 years ago. In 2021, he and four others were convicted for the murder of a former manager of the sect and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted him in the case in May 2024. In February 2024, the High Court told the Haryana government that Ram Rahim should not be granted parole without the court’s permission.

However, in August that year the court said the application for temporary release filed by Ram Rahim will be decided by the competent authorities. In February 2022, the Haryana government amended its parole laws, critics alleged, to benefit the Dera chief. Earlier, specific circumstances, such as death in the family, critical illness, marriage, etc., had to be cited to secure parole. The 2022 legislation allowed convicts who have served a year in jail to be eligible for 10 weeks of parole and 21 days of furlough per year. The authorities have denied any bias, but for the Dera chief’s victims, his frequent stints outside jail are a travesty of justice.