Ram Rahim Parole Hearing: How Many Days Has He Already Spent Out of Jail?

The self-styled godman has been convicted of rape and murder, and has two other cases against him.

(This article was originally published in February 2023. It has been updated and reposted from The Quint's archives to reflect Ram Rahim's latest parole in November 2023.)

In 2017, when a special CBI Court was sentencing Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to 20 years in prison, the judge had said that the self-styled godman did not deserve “the sympathy of the court” since his victims had placed him “on the pedestal of ‘god’ and revered him”, but “he did not even spare his own pious disciples and had acted like a wild beast.”

Since then, starting 2020, Singh, who is currently lodged at a prison in Haryana’s Rohtak after his conviction in two rape and two murder cases so far, has been out several times on parole and furlough – a move which has invited the ire of many.

Less than five months after getting a 40-day parole, Singh in July 2023, was granted regular parole of 30 days by the BJP-led Haryana government. In November 2023, he was again granted parole for 21 days.

So, why does Ram Rahim Singh keep getting parole? What is the case against him? And what’s been happening in court? Take a look.

Rape, Murder, Castration: The Cases Against Him

1) Sadhvis’ Rape Case, Convicted For 20 Years 

What happened:  An anonymous letter, written in 2002  and addressed to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Punjab & Haryana High Court Chief Justice alleged that Gurmeet Ram Rahim had sexually exploited two Sadhvis (female worshippers) and a case was registered against him, according to the court order.

What followed:  Following this, the High Court ordered the Sirsa district and sessions judge to look into the allegations made in the letter. The case went to the CBI and a charge sheet was filed five years later in 2007. The special CBI court, in 2017, convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim of rape and criminal intimidation.

Case Status: Three days after the conviction, the judge announced that the Dera head would be sentenced to prison for 20 years –10 years for each case.

Additionally, the judge also ordered a compensation of Rs 15 lakh each to the two victims.

2) Journalist murder case, Sentenced To Life

What happened: Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, was shot at his house in 2002, reportedly after his newspaper published the anonymous letter that revealed that the two women were being sexually exploited by Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

What followed: The journalist later succumbed to his injuries and a case was registered in 2003. The case was handed over to the CBI in 2006.

Case Status: A special CBI court convicted the Dera Chief and three of his followers for the murder, and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the accused.

3) Employee Murder Case, Sentenced To Life

What happened: After the anonymous letter alleging sexual harassment by the godman was circulated, the Dera management extensively started looking for the person behind the act.

According to the court order, the management suspected Ranjit Singh, a member of Dera’s influential 10-member committee to have played a role in the circulation and shot at him.

Singh was killed when he was returning from his fields at his native village in Kurukshetra district. 

What followed: The murder case was handed over to the CBI in 2004. The hearing began only in 2017.

Case status: In 2021, a  special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court held the godman guilty of conspiracy in the murder of Ranjit Singh and sentenced him to life in prison. The court also convicted four others -- three for killing Ranjit and one(besides Ram Rahim) for plotting the murder,

4) Castration case, Hearing Ongoing

What happened: 400 male devotees from states including Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan were allegedly castrated at the Dera headquarters amid false claims suggesting that “castration would lead to realisation of God."

What followed: A case related to the alleged castration was registered in 2015 on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after hearing a petition filed by the Dera chief’s former follower Hans Raj Chauhan.

Case Status:  In 2018, the CBI  filed a chargesheet against Dera Sacha Sauda chief and two his accomplices – Doctor Pankaj Garg and Doctor MP Singh, regarding the same. The case is presently being heard.

5) Blasphemy Case, Revision Plea Being Heard

What happened: The Dera chief had allegedly imitated Guru Gobind Singh during a ceremony of the sect. A case, for hurting religious sentiments, was immediately registered.

Case Status: In 2014, a Bhatinda court acquitted the Dera Chief but a revision petition was filed in 2015. The hearing is ongoing in this case.

It is worth mentioning here, that in his six-year jail term so far related to the above-mentioned cases, the godman has already been granted parole/furlough six times.

While both parole and furlough entail suspension of sentence, furlough is seen as a matter of right of a prisoner (in cases of long-term imprisonment), and parole is not treated as a matter of right. The latter is given only for specific reasons.

In Ram Rahim’s case, he was granted both at different points of time.

When & Why Was Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Granted Parole/Furlough?

• 2020: Granted a day’s parole on 26 October to meet his ailing mother who was admitted in a Gurgaon hospital

• 2021: Granted a day's parole again on 21 May  to meet his ailing mother

• 2022:  Was out of jail for 91 days, including,

  – 21 days of furlough in February before Punjab Assembly elections

  – 30 days of parole in June before Haryana municipality elections

  – 40 days of parole in October in before Assembly bypoll in Adampur, Haryana, and Himachal Assembly elections

While opposition members have claimed that the release was closely linked to the elections, the BJP-led Haryana government has said that his release was a “mere coincidence” all three times.

• 2023: Was out of jail for 91 days, including,

  40 days of parole in January to allow him to participate in a former Dera head's anniversary on 25 January 

  30 days of parole in July

  21 days of parole in November

But Who Grants Parole To The 'Godman?'

“The competent authority” shall grant regular parole and furlough to a convicted prisoner, say Section 3 & 4 of the The Haryana Good Conduct Prisoner (Temporary Release) Act, 2022.

Section 2 of the same legislation also mentions that it is the state government that will decide on who this “competent authority” is.

In Ram Rahim's case, Rohtak Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Verma passed the latest parole order.

In fact, the BJP-led Haryana government has repeatedly elicited the wrath of opposition parties and activists alike, for granting parole to the convicted godman:

"How can the Haryana government be so considerate towards a rapist? It’s a slap on all the Nirbhayas of the country.”

DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal to news agency ANI

Meanwhile, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), an important Sikh religious body, stated that if murderers and rapists are let free, then Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners) who struggled for community rights and interests should also be released, news agency PTI reported.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami maintained that the dual policy of the governments towards minorities is creating an environment of mistrust among Sikhs.

This seething displeasure at his frequent releases has reached the courtroom too.

The Slew Of Petitions Against His Temporary Releases

• The latest one, filed in 2023, claims that his temporary release, while disturbing public harmony, has violated statutory parole rules. The petitioner, who is a lawyer, has stated that the latest parole order violates section 11 of the Haryana Good Conduct prisoners (temporary release) Act 2022.

• In another petition moved before the Panjab and Haryana HC in October 2022, Advocate HC Arora had contended that by permitting Ram Rahim during parole to hold  a ‘satsang’, the government has bowed before a rape and murder convict as if he is above law of the land. The high court had, however, dismissed the petition

• Further, in February 2022, another petition challenged his release around the time of the Punjab Assembly election and said that the move was “against the spirit of free elections." The court had heard the case and reserved its verdict on 26 February

‘Not A Hardcore Criminal’: What the Govt Has Said

The government’s response to most of these allegations has been in defence of the Dera Chief.

In 2022, the Haryana Government, while defending its decision to release him on furlough, told the High court that he was not a “hardcore criminal.”

In another instance, Haryana Jails Minister, Ranjit Singh Chauthala had said that the godman getting parole around the elections was only “a coincidence”  and had pointed to his “fundamental rights”:

“Ram Rahim is like every other prisoner and also has his fundamental rights. After 3-5 years, a prisoner can apply for parole and it is not in our hands, competent authority decides on it.”

Last year, while speaking to the media, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said:

“If he has got parole, then it must be after following all the procedures and that is his right. I will not interfere in that."

(With inputs from LiveLaw, ANI, PTI)