Punjab and Haryana High Court bars Haryana from granting further parole to Gurmeet Ram Rahim

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday ordered that the Haryana government shall not grant any further parole to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief and rape and murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh without the Court's permission [Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee v. State of Haryana and others].The self-styled godman is presently out on parole from January 19 and has to surrender on March 10 at 5 PM. He has been repeatedly granted the benefit of parole since 2022.A division bench of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji ordered that after Ram Rahim surrenders on March 10, the State shall not consider his case for further parole without the Court's permission."In the meantime, the said respondent may surrender on the date fixed i.e. 10.03.2024 and thereafter the State- authorities shall not consider his case for grant of further parole till further orders without the permission of this Court. The State of Haryana shall also file necessary custody certificate to the effect that the said respondent has surrendered on the date fixed," the Court said. .According to the data presented before the High Court today in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, Ram Rahim was released for 91 days each in 2022 and 2023.During the pendency of the PIL filed by Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee last year against one such parole order, the Court remarked that Haryana government still chose to grant Ram Rahim the "indulgence of parole" three times for a period of 30, 21 and 50 days..The Court said that repeated grant of parole to a person who has been convicted in three cases, was "interesting". It, therefore, directed the Haryana government to provide details with regard to how many persons having such criminal antecedents had been granted such similar benefit of parole."Let a necessary affidavit be filed before the next date of hearing," ordered the Court..Ram Rahim was first convicted in a case of rape in 2017 by a Panchkula Court and sentenced to consecutive imprisonment of ten years each for rape of two victims. In 2019, he was convicted in a case of conspiracy for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2021, he was again convicted in another murder case and sentenced to life.The repeated grant of parole in his favour by Haryana government has received criticism from various quarters.[Read Order]