No parole to Ram Rahim without permission: High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday told the Haryana government that now rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh cannot be granted parole without prior permission from the court.

Singh is serving a 20-year jail term over the rape of two women disciples and was recently granted 50-day parole. He was earlier let out of jail six times in 2023 and 2022.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) had filed a petition at the High Court opposing the grant of parole to Ram Rahim. While giving instructions to the Haryana government, the court also asked how many more people have been granted parole in the same way as Ram Rahim.

In 2023, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was granted parole three times - 40 days in January, 30 days in July and 21 days in November. In 2022 too, he was let out of the Sunaria jail three times. In February 2022, he was granted a three-week parole, then in June, he was out for one month. In October 2022, he was granted a 40-day parole.