Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has once again been granted a 21-day parole by the Haryana authorities, allowing him to temporarily leave Sunaria Jail in Rohtak, where he is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2017 for raping two of his female followers. This is the 17th time Ram Rahim has been released from prison since his conviction. Officials said he has been permitted to travel directly to the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa, where he is expected to stay for the duration of his parole.

Ram Rahim has received several paroles and furloughs over the past few years. Earlier this year, he was granted a 30-day parole in May and a 40-day parole in January. In previous years, he also received a 40-day parole in August 2025, a 21-day furlough in April 2025, and another 30-day parole in January 2025 ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. The repeated temporary releases have frequently drawn public and political attention, given the Dera Sacha Sauda’s significant influence across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and several other northern states.

Apart from his conviction in the rape case, Ram Rahim had also been convicted in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati by a special CBI court in 2019. However, in March this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted him in that case after re-examining the evidence. Despite the acquittal in the murder case, Ram Rahim continues to serve his prison sentence in the rape cases. His latest parole has once again sparked discussion over the frequency of temporary releases granted to convicted prisoners in high-profile cases.