New Delhi: Punjab and Haryana High court on Thursday heard a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the cancellation of parole to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The High Court has issued notices to Haryana Government, Punjab Government, Central Government, and rape convict Ram Rahim on this matter.
The next hearing on the matter will be on February 21.
The petitioner, a Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) member, has sought directions to quash January 20, 2023, order passed by the divisional commissioner, Rohtak, to grant parole to Gurmeet against the provisions of Section 11 of The Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act 2022, as per Times of India report.
Bhagwant Singh Sialka, who is also an advocate, has submitted that he has no personal interest in the present matter but has filed this petition as a public interest litigation (PIL) in view of the dangers of Gurmeet on parole and thereby jeopardizing the sovereignty, the integrity of India.
According to the petition, a perusal of the parole order clearly shows that he has been granted temporary release in the case in which he has been convicted. It adds that a warrant of sentence was issued by the special CBI court, Panchkula, on August 28, 2017, and no reference has been made about his conviction in two murder cases in two different FIRs in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment on January 17, 2019, and October 18, 2021.
“He was in jail and undergoing sentences under three orders of the competent courts, but the order of temporary release has been issued only in one case. In view of the clear-cut provisions of Section 11 of The Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act 2022, he could not have been released from jail. There is no linking of the fact in the impugned order that he was on bail in all the other cases, thereby committing the violation of Section 11 (1) of the Act,” the petition further stated.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples.