Ram Rahim came out of jail again, got 30 days parole, Dera chief has spent 406 days of his sentence outside the bars.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, chief of Dera Sacha Sauda based in Sirsa, Haryana, has once again got temporary release from Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail. On Monday, citing the rules, the Dera chief was granted parole for 30 days. The surprising thing is that this is the 16th time since the year 2020 that Ram Rahim has been allowed to come out of jail through parole or furlough. Ram Rahim, who is serving 20 years of imprisonment since 2017 in a serious case of raping two female followers (sadhvis), has been recorded as prisoner number 8647/C in the records of the jail administration, who has once again left for his Barnawa Ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. This repeated temporary release of Dera chief Ram Rahim, who has spent 406 days out of the jail bars out of 3193 days of his total sentence, has generated maximum discussion and debate in the legal and social circles across the country. If we look at the figures, the Dera chief has so far completed a total of 3193 days of his sentence (about 8 years and 8 months). But the shocking truth is that out of these 3193 days, he has spent 406 days not behind the bars of Sunaria jail, but in the open air with the help of parole and furlough. Ram Rahim’s parole quota for the year 2026 is completely over, but the path of ‘furlough’ is still left. Legal limit of parole: Under the strict provisions of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, any prisoner can be given parole only for a maximum of 10 weeks (70 days) in a calendar year (i.e. between January to December). According to the rules, any prisoner can divide this period into two parts. Quota Full: At the beginning of the current calendar year 2026 i.e. in the month of January, Ram Rahim got parole for 40 days. Now, with the approval of another 30-day parole on Monday, a total of 70 days (10 weeks) of his quota for the year 2026 have been completed. This means that he will not be able to get any parole this year. What is the difference between parole and furlough? Know the next formula for three weeks’ release. Even though Ram Rahim’s parole quota has ended this year, he can still come out of jail again by taking the legal benefit of three weeks’ furlough. According to Haryana Jail Manual, furlough can never be given in pieces, it has to be done in one go only. From a legal perspective, there is a huge technical difference between parole and furlough. When a convicted prisoner spends time out of jail on parole, that period is not added to his total sentence days (i.e. his sentence is carried forward by the same number of days). In contrast, time spent out on furlough is counted as part of the prisoner’s sentence, meaning his or her sentence is considered waived and continues despite being out of prison during that period. Under another special provision of the 2022 law, as soon as Ram Rahim completes three-fourths (3/4) of the main sentence of his rape case in jail, he will be entitled to a full four weeks of furlough simultaneously. He was sentenced to 20 years in a rape case, but was acquitted by the High Court in two big murder cases. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s criminal history is full of very serious cases, in some of which he was convicted and in some he got a big relief from the higher court: Sadhvi rape case (2017): In August 2017, the special CBI court of Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim of sexually abusing and raping two female followers inside the Dera. He was convicted and sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, since which he is in jail. Journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati and Ranjit Singh murder case: After this, the CBI court had sentenced Ram Rahim to life imprisonment for the murder of the fearless journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati, who exposed the truth of the Dera in the year 2019 and for hatching a dreadful conspiracy to murder the former Dera manager Ranjit Singh in the year 2021. However, due to lack of evidence, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has completely acquitted the Dera chief in the Ranjit Singh murder case in the year 2024 and the journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati murder case in the beginning of the year 2026. Because of this, the path to his release from jail has become easier.