Convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail on Tuesday after being granted a 30-day parole, marking the 16th temporary release he has received since his conviction in 2017.
The self-styled godman is serving a 20-year prison sentence in the rape case involving two women disciples. His latest release comes months after he was granted a 40-day parole in January 2026 during celebrations linked to Dera founder Shah Satnam Singh’s birth anniversary.
16th Release Since Conviction
With this latest parole, Ram Rahim has now availed temporary release 16 times through parole or furlough since being jailed nearly nine years ago.
Prison records reportedly list him as convict number 8647/C. Of the 3,193 days completed in custody so far, he has spent 406 days outside jail on temporary release.
He was convicted by a special CBI court in 2017 in the sexual assault case and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Murder Cases And Acquittals
Apart from the rape conviction, Ram Rahim had also faced convictions in two separate murder cases.
In 2019, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. He was also convicted in 2021 for conspiracy in the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court later acquitted him in both cases — first in the Ranjit Singh murder case in 2024 and subsequently in the Ram Chander Chhatrapati murder case in 2026.
What Haryana’s Parole Rules Say
Under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, prisoners are allowed parole for a maximum cumulative period of 10 weeks in a calendar year, usually split into two parts.
With the current 30-day parole added to the 40-day parole granted earlier this year, Ram Rahim has exhausted his parole quota for 2026.
However, he remains eligible for up to three weeks of furlough this year under prison rules.
Unlike parole, time spent on furlough is counted as part of the sentence served. Parole periods, on the other hand, are excluded from the total sentence duration.
The law also allows prisoners who complete three-fourths of their sentence in a particular case to apply for additional furlough benefits under certain conditions.
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