The Punjab and Haryana High Court has given liberty to the Haryana government to grant parole to Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape & murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal on Friday lifted the bar on grant of parole/furlough to the Dera chief, which was imposed by the High Court in February this year.
In February 2024, the High Court had restrained the State from granting parole to Ram Rahim without its permission.
The High Court recorded in its Friday order that it was crystal clear that the Act of 2022 has rightly been applied by the State of Haryana while considering and deciding the application of parole filed by respondent No.9 (Gurmeet Ram Rahim).
The Division Bench rejected the argument that the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 should have been applied in Ram Rahim’s case.
It further questioned why it should dwell upon the merits of the matter when the period of parole of 40 days granted to the accused was over in March 2023 itself.
Noting that the State of Haryana in its response has furnished data describing various periods and the dates on which the benefit of temporary release was extended to respondent No.9, the High Court said it was refraining itself from considering the justifiability of these temporary releases since the cause of challenge to Annexure P-1 has become infructuous due to the expiry of period of parole granted vide Annexure P-1.
It observed that the accused has since surrendered and was currently lodged in jail.
The High Court further said that it would not like to comment upon the possibility of any breach in law & order/public orders on temporary release of respondent No.9 in the future since any such attempt would lead to venturing the arena of assumptions & presumptions.
However, in case any application was made by Ram Rahim for temporary release, the same shall be considered ‘strictly’ in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 2022 without the competent authority indulging in arbitrariness or favouritism or discrimination.
With this, the High Court dismissed the petition filed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in 2023 against the Haryana government, alleging misuse of law for the grant parole to the Dera chief.
The Dera chief was convicted in a case of rape by a Panchkula Court in 2017 and sentenced to consecutive imprisonment of 10 years each for rape of two victims.
He was convicted in a case of conspiracy for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019. In 2021, he was again convicted in another murder case and sentenced to life. Ram Rahim was released for 91 days each in 2022 and 2023.
The High Court on Friday also ordered registration of a separate Public Interest Litigation regarding preparation of a digital application with regard to temporary release of prisoners.
This Court, vide order dated October 13, 2023, had enlarged the scope of this Public Interest Litigation to include the aspect of preparation of digital app at every district level where applications made for grant of furlough/parole by all the inmates can be registered and the process of grant of furlough/parole should be uploaded on that application, read the order.