Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim is out of jail once again. He has been granted 21 days' furlough. According to information, he was taken out of Sunariha jail at around 6:30 pm under police protection. After getting 21 days' furlough, Ram Rahim will spend the furlough period at Barwana Ashram in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. Ram Rahim got furlough after the Punjab and Haryana High Court settled a petition filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

In this petition, the temporary release of the jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief was challenged. Disposing of the petition, the court said that the petition for temporary release should be considered by the competent authority without any arbitrariness or bias. This order came a day after the High Court bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Khetrapal reserved its order after hearing the arguments of all the parties. The apex gurdwara body SGPC had filed a petition against the temporary release of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim.

Ram Rahim is serving a sentence for rape

Let us tell you, the SGPC had argued that the Dera chief is serving several sentences for serious crimes like murder and rape and if he is released, it will endanger the sovereignty and integrity of India and will adversely affect public order. Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his followers and is lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak district. He was granted 50-day parole on January 19.

SGPC's argument filed

In its order last Friday, the court rejected the SGPC's argument that the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 should have been applied instead of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022 while considering and approving parole to the Dera chief. The court said that in the case of respondent number nine (Dera chief), the competent authority is the Divisional Commissioner of Police. The order said, the court would like to see that if any application for temporary release is made by respondent number nine, it should be considered by the competent authority strictly by the provisions of the Act of 2022 and without arbitrariness or bias, or discrimination.