E-Paper
Dera chief Ram Rahim out on 21-day furlough
Will spend a total 457 days outside jail in less than six years, Gets 17th temporary release since 2020; third release this year takes his time out of prison in 2026 to 91 days
Prefer HTon Google
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of Rohtak’s high-security Sunaria jail early on Tuesday after being granted a 21-day furlough, marking his 17th temporary release from prison since October 2020 and the third such release this year.
The controversial religious preacher is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a special CBI court convicted him in 2017 of raping two women disciples.
He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in two separate murder cases, the 2019 conviction for the murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and the 2021 conviction for conspiring to murder former Dera manager Ranjit Singh. However, the Punjab and Haryana high court later acquitted him in the Ranjit Singh murder case in 2024 and in the Chhatrapati murder case in 2026.
He left the jail at around 6.05 am amid tight security arrangements. He is learnt to have reached Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.
The latest furlough comes less than two months after Ram Rahim returned to Sunaria jail on June 26 on completion of a 30-day parole granted in May.
With the latest release, Ram Rahim has now got a total 457 days outside prison on parole or furlough in less than six years, according to the duration of his temporary releases since 2020. However in May 2021, he was allowed out for around 12 hours to visit his ailing mother.
The latest release also means that Ram Rahim will spend a total of 91 days outside jail in 2026 alone. He was also granted 40 days’ parole in January, followed by another 30 days in May.
His track record since 2022 shows that he has generally received at least three temporary releases every year, allowing him to spend roughly three months outside jail annually.
The pattern was similar during the election year of 2024, when he was released three times, for 50 days in January, 21 days in August and 20 days in October. In 2025, he received 30 days’ parole in January, followed by 21 days in April and 40 days in August.
Since he enjoys support of followers in Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab, his repeated parole and furlough releases have triggered public and political debate over the years, particularly because of the frequency with which temporary relief has been granted to a convict serving sentences in serious criminal cases.
Reacting over the repeated releases, Punjab and Haryana high court advocate Kamal Anand says that the parole and furlough are designed under prison welfare statutes as progressive reformative measures, not absolute rights or open-ended executive entitlements. “But repeated temporary releases for a powerful convict in heinous crimes raise serious questions about administrative discretion and equal justice. While ordinary prisoners struggle for relief, such repeated liberties can re-traumatise survivors and undermine public faith in the criminal justice system”, he added.
Ram Rahim’s temporary releases since 2020
October 2020: 1 day
May 2021: Around 12 hours
February 2022: 21 days
June 2022: 30 days
October 2022: 40 days
January 2023: 40 days
July 2023: 30 days
November 2023: 21 days
January 2024: 50 days
August 2024: 21 days
October 2024: 20 days
January 2025: 30 days
April 2025: 21 days
August 2025: 40 days
January 2026: 40 days
May 2026: 30 days
August 2026: 21 days
