ROHTAK, Haryana, Jan 4 — Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, serving a 20-year prison term for raping two of his disciples, has been granted a fresh 40-day parole, officials said Saturday.
The parole was approved by the Rohtak Divisional Commissioner, and Ram Rahim is expected to be released from Sunaria jail in Rohtak either Sunday or Monday, officials confirmed.
“This is a routine parole approved as per rules,” a senior Haryana government official said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
This will be the 15th time Ram Rahim has been released from prison on parole or furlough since his conviction by a CBI court in 2017.
Apart from the rape conviction, the Dera chief is also serving a life sentence for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who was killed in 2002 after exposing alleged sexual exploitation at the sect.
Ram Rahim was last granted a 40-day parole in August 2025, which he reportedly used to celebrate his 58th birthday. Earlier in 2025, he was given a 21-day furlough in April and a 30-day parole in January, weeks before the Delhi Assembly elections.
In previous years as well, his paroles and furloughs have coincided with election periods. He was granted a 20-day parole in October 2024 ahead of the Haryana Assembly polls and a three-week furlough in February 2022, shortly before the Punjab Assembly elections.
During most of his previous releases, Ram Rahim stayed at the Dera’s ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s Bagpat district.
