HC issues notice to Haryana government on fresh plea against parole to Ram Rahim

The plea has been filed by Lawyers for Human Rights International, an NGO. The high court bench of justice AG Masih and justice Sanjiv Berry has sought a response by July 6.

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday sought a response from the Haryana government on a plea seeking a restraining order against the release of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim on parole.

Earlier, a plea from the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) also sought quashing of the order granting parole to Dera head.

The plea has been filed by Lawyers for Human Rights International, an NGO. The high court bench of justice AG Masih and justice Sanjiv Berry has sought a response by July 6.

The plea claims, Ram Rahim, misused the concession of parole when released recently by holding religious online meetings and collecting lakhs of followers and an FIR has been lodged against him for hurting religious sentiments. It also says his parole should not be allowed as per a Supreme Court judgment in which it was held that those who are habitual offenders may have a tendency to commit the crime again or have the tendency to become a threat to the law and order should not be released on parole.

Earlier, a plea from the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) also sought quashing of the order granting parole to Dera head.

The dera chief, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping his two disciples in 2002, is lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail. He is also a convict in two cases of murder. In past nearly one year, he has been granted parole multiple times, which has come under scrutiny from various quarters.