Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of Haryana’s high-security Sunaria Jail early Tuesday morning after being granted a 21-day parole, marking his 17th temporary release since 2020. The self-styled godman, serving a 20-year sentence for the rape of two women disciples, left the prison around 6:05 a.m. in a convoy of luxury vehicles and headed straight to the Dera’s headquarters in Sirsa.
Prison officials confirmed that the parole was approved under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022. Ram Rahim, listed as convict number 8647/C, is expected to remain at the Sirsa ashram for the duration of the release. This is the third consecutive parole period during which he has been permitted to stay at the main Dera complex rather than the organisation’s ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
The latest release comes just months after he returned from a 30-day parole granted in May 2026. Since his conviction in August 2017, Ram Rahim has spent more than 435 days outside prison through a combination of paroles and furloughs. Under Haryana rules, convicts may avail up to 10 weeks of parole in a calendar year, while furlough periods of up to three weeks annually count toward the sentence. Time spent on parole, however, does not reduce the remaining term.
A special CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced Ram Rahim to two consecutive 10-year terms in 2017 after finding him guilty of raping two women followers at the Sirsa headquarters in cases dating back to 2002. The court also convicted him under charges of criminal intimidation. He was later convicted in the murders of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh and journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, though the Punjab and Haryana High Court subsequently acquitted him in both cases.
Critics have repeatedly questioned the frequency of his temporary releases, noting that they often coincide with important religious or organisational events at the Dera. Supporters of the sect maintain that the paroles are granted strictly according to prison rules based on good conduct. Prison records show that Ram Rahim first received a short release in October 2020 and has since been granted multiple spells ranging from a few hours to 50 days.
On Tuesday, security arrangements remained tight around both the jail and the Sirsa complex. Police maintained a visible presence to prevent large gatherings, a precaution followed during previous releases. Ram Rahim’s lawyer confirmed the approval of the 21-day period and stated that the Dera chief would abide by all conditions imposed by the authorities.
The repeated grants of temporary freedom to a high-profile convict serving time for sexual assault have once again sparked debate about consistency in the application of parole rules. While the Haryana government has defended the decisions as administrative and rule-based, opposition voices and women’s rights groups have called it insult to the injury of the survivors and the families of victims.
