Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, out on another parole, has already spent 406 days out of jail

DEpoch Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet pound Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year condemn in the Sadhvi sexual assault caseful, has erst again been released from Sunaria Jail in Haryana's Rohtak after being granted 30-day parole by the competent state authority, marking his 16th temporary release since his conviction.The self-styled godman walked out of Sunaria Jail at around 6:34 am on Tuesday, with minimal visible security arrangements during his exit.Confirming the development, his advocate Jitendra Khurana told ANI, "He has got the parole today. It has been given by the competent authority of the state. He has been granted parole for 30 days."He further added, "He will stay in his Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, during the parole."This is not the first instance of parole granted to the self-styled godman, whose temporary releases in the past have drawn political criticism and security concerns.436 days out of prison for rape convict ‘Godman’This is the 16th time since his conviction in August 2017 that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has walked out of prison on a temporary release. This brings his cumulative days outside prison to approximately 436 days over the past almost 9 years, serving a 20-year prison sentence. Before the current release, Ram Rahim has spent 406 days out of prison.Here is the breakdown according to official prison records for Convict 8647/C:1st Release (October 2020): 1 day2nd Release (May 2021): 0.5 days (12 hours to visit his mother)3rd Release (February 2022): 21 days4th Release (June 2022): 30 days5th Release (October 2022): 40 days6th Release (January 2023): 40 days7th Release (July 2023): 30 days8th Release (November 2023): 21 days9th Release (January 2024): 50 days10th Release (August 2024): 21 days11th Release (October 2024): 20 days12th Release (January 2025): 30 days13th Release (April 2025): 21 days14th Release (August 2025): 40 days15th Release (January 2026): 40 days16th Release (May 2026): 30 days (Current release)Ram Rahim was first lodged in Sunaria Jail in August 2017 following his conviction and has since been released multiple times on parole or furlough, including a 40-day parole earlier this year in January, after which he returned to jail on February 15.Why is Dera chief out of prison so often?Dera Sachcha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s frequent releases are legally facilitated by the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022. This rule lets eligible convicts apply for up to 70 days of parole and 21 days of furlough per calendar year.According to India Today, he remains eligible for standard temporary release benefits due to the Haryana government classifying his multiple convictions as conspiracies rather than serial killings.Acquittal in other casesEarlier on March 7, the Punjab and Haryana high court acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati's murder case.Gurmeet Ram Rahim was accused of orchestrating the killing of Ramchandra Chhatrapati, a Sirsa-based journalist, for openly criticising the Dera chief in his newspaper.In 2019, a Special CBI court found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the case. Along with Ram Rahim, three other convicts - Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal - were also found guilty in the murder case and were awarded life imprisonment. The court had also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 each.A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vikram Aggarwal of the Punjab and Haryana high court delivered the verdict, acquitting Ram Rahim.Earlier, in 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief and four others in the 2002 murder case of a former Dera official. The Special CBI court of Panchkula had sentenced all the accused, including Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others, to life imprisonment in the murder case of Dera manager Ranjit Singh.It was alleged that Ranjit Singh, a resident of village Khanpur Kolian in Haryana's Kurukshetra, was murdered on July 10, 2002, when he was working in his fields.