Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of Sunaria jail on a 21-day furlough, marking his 17th temporary release since his conviction in 2017.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief is serving a 20-year sentence for raping two disciples and will stay at the sect's Sirsa headquarters during the furlough.
His repeated parole and furlough periods have drawn scrutiny, particularly because several previous releases came around elections.
Rape Convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Gets 21-Day Furlough, Walks Out Of Jail For 17th Time
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been granted a 21-day furlough, marking his 17th temporary release from prison since his 2017 conviction
Summary
Rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail in Rohtak on Tuesday morning on a 21-day furlough, sources told PTI. It is the 17th time he has moved out of the prison since his conviction in August 2017.
Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples and is currently lodged in the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak. He will stay at his Sirsa-headquartered Dera during the furlough period, as per PTI. The preacher has been granted furlough an unusually high number of times since his conviction. This is his third release this year alone.
Why Ram Rahim's Repeated Releases Draw Attention
He was granted a 30- and 40-day parole in May and January. He stepped out of prison on a 40-day parole in August 2025, a 21-day furlough in April 2025, and a 30-day parole in January 2025, ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly Polls. He walked out of prison on a 20-day parole on October 1, 2024, days before the October 5 Haryana Assembly Polls.
In August 2024, Ram Rahim was granted a 21-day furlough. He was also permitted a three-week furlough from February 7, 2022, barely two weeks before the Punjab Assembly Polls. Sikh outfits, such as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, have criticised the recurring relief to Ram Rahim.
In March, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Ram Rahim in the 2002 murder case of a journalist, seven years after he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the case by a special CBI court.
Interwoven Collective Conscience And Legal Administration
In May 2024, the high court overturned another special CBI court order and acquitted Ram Rahim and four others in the 2002 murder of the sect's former manager, Ranjit Singh. The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda has a huge following in Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
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In Haryana, the largest number of followers are from such districts as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, and Hisar.
The repeated release of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh cuts deep into a complex societal nerve, laying bare a stark disconnect between legal administration and the collective conscience of a community. As the Dera Chief walks out of prison for the 17th time, the unfolding situation highlights a troubling reality where political timing and institutional leniency appear to overshadow accountability, leaving those who fought for justice feeling deeply disillusioned.
For the thousands who still revere him, his return is a moment of divine celebration; for his victims and the critics watching from the side-lines, it is a sobering, routine spectacle that continues to stretch the public's faith in the uniformity of Indian justice.
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