Gurmeet Ram Rahim's Parole: Why Punjab & Haryana High Court Lifted Ban After 7 Months

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in a recent order uplifted the ban it had previously imposed on grant of parole to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The High Court had earlier pulled up the Haryana Government for granting parole for 91 days each in 2022 as well as 2023 to self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in a recent order uplifted the ban it had previously imposed on grant of parole to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief and rape and murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. 

While reversing its previous order on Friday, the high court said that the Haryana government can now grant parole under Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief.

The High Court had in February this year restrained the State from granting parole to Dera Chief without its permission.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal disposed of the petition moved by Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) against alleged misuse of law in grant of temporary release to the self-styled godman.

The high court held that the Haryana government had rightly applied the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022 to grant benefit to the Dera Chief. And further rejected the argument that Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 should have been applied in his case.

"The object of the Act of 2022 is to grant temporary release to the prisoners for good conduct with certain conditions. It is obvious that the Act of 2022 would apply to all such applications made by the prisoners seeking parole/furlough on or after 11.04.2022 when the Act of 2022 came into operation. Pertinently the applicability of the Act of 2022 cannot be relatable to any incident e.g. offence or conviction, which took place prior to the filing of an application under Section 3/4 of the Act of 2022...The corollary to the aforesaid is that the 1988 repealed Act would not apply for the application which respondent No.9 made for release on parole which led to the passing of impugned order..." the high court noted.

The high court refused to make any comments on future applications for temporary release by Ram Rahim.

"This Court would also not like to comment upon the possibility of any breach in law & order/public orders on temporary release of respondent No.9 in the future since any such attempt would lead to venturing the arena of assumptions & presumptions."

However, it added that in case of any application is made by him for temporary release, the same shall be considered "strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 2022 without the competent authority indulging in arbitrariness or favoritism or discrimination."

In Februrary, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had restrained the State from granting parole to Dera Chief without its permission.

The High Court had earlier pulled up the Haryana Government for granting parole for 91 days each in 2022 as well as 2023 to self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The high court had also asked the Haryana government to file an affidavit with details of how many persons having such criminal antecedents and sentenced in three cases have been granted this benefit.

Ram Rahim who was then on Parole till March 10, was directed to surrender to jail authorities.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji said that this case makes interesting reading keeping in view the background and the antecedents of Ram Rahim, who has conviction in three cases against him, has been released for 91 days each in the years 2022 and 2023. 

The case was heard by another bench of the high court on Friday, that disposed the petition while noting that the self-styled godman has not got parole after March 2023. It also refused to dwell upon the merits of the matter saying that the period of parole of 40 days granted to him was over in March 2023 itself.