Gurmeet Ram Rahim—who has been serving sentences for cases of rape and murder—has been granted a 21-day furlough making it the 17th temporary release since his conviction in a rape case in 2017, reported Hindustan Times. After being convicted in 2020, Ram Rahim was released for the first time in October 2020, and since then has been granted temporary releases on account of good conduct, as per the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022. However, this 17th temporary release comes within less than two months of his previous furlough, from May to June 2026. According to Hindustan Times, Ram Rahim left the prison around 6.05 am today, and headed towards the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda located in Sirsa.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda—a faith-based organization and ‘religious cult’—was convicted of raping two women followers in August 2017 and lodged at the Sunaria Jail, Rohtak, Haryana. After the initial conviction, he was further charged with the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati based in Sirsa—the place where the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters is located. Three other men were also convicted of Ram Chander’s murder, namely Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Kishan Lal.
Following this, in 2021, Ram Rahim and four others were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder of a former manager of his sect. However, Ram Rahim was later acquitted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in May 2024.
Since his conviction in 2017, Ram Rahim has been granted a number of furloughs, the count of which stands at 17, with the recent one granted today, August 25, 2026. Ram Rahim has already been granted two temporary reliefs since the beginning of 2026. The first was in the month of January, 2026, for a period of 40 days. The second one came in the month of May, 2026, when he was again granted a month-long furlough and returned to the Rohtak Jail on June 26, 2026.
With the recent one granted today, it is the third temporary release granted to Ram Rahim this year. Given the severity of Ram Rahim’s crimes, the series of releases has become a matter of serious criticism among legal professionals, civil society groups and various political organizations across the country.
With the furlough granted today, Singh has completed his annual release entitlements. Under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoner Temporary Release Act, 2022, he was entitled to ten weeks (70 days) of parole and three weeks (21 days) of furlough.
Hindustan Times also noted the official prison records of Ram Rahim and has made a significant revelation on the number of releases granted. The first release was in October 2020 for a day, followed by a twelve-hour visit with his mother in May 2021. Since then, the releases have been relatively longer. He received a 21-day release in February 2022, a 30-day release in June 2022 and a 40-day release in October 2022, totalling 91 days in 2022.
Similarly, in 2023, 2024 and 2025, Singh received a temporary release of 91 days under the Good Conduct of Prisoners Temporary release Act.
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