‘Further parole not without court nod’: HC to Haryana on Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim

The matter came up for hearing before the division bench of Acting Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji.

The bench while hearing the matter on Thursday also directed Haryana to furnish an affidavit mentioning the paroles granted to convicts in the state who have been involved in similar offences. The directions were issued orally in the court by the bench. The counsel for SGPC, P S Hundal, meanwhile, confirmed the directions have been issued to Haryana.

The matter was further adjourned for March 11 and a detailed order in the matter was yet to be released by the High Court.

The High Court is hearing a petition filed by Bhagwant Singh Sialka, a member of the SGPC, who had moved High Court in February 2023, seeking to quash the January 20, 2023, order passed by the divisional commissioner, Rohtak, to grant a parole to the Dera chief against the provisions of Section 11 of The Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act 2022.

Sialka in the petition had submitted that he has no personal interest in the present matter but has filed this petition as a public interest litigation (PIL) in view of the dangers of Gurmeet on parole and thereby jeopardising the sovereignty, integrity of India.

“He was in jail and undergoing sentences under three orders of the competent courts, but the order of temporary release has been issued only in one case. In view of the clear-cut provisions of Section 11 of The Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act 2022, he could not have been released from jail. There is no linking of the fact in the impugned order that he was on bail in all the other cases, thereby committing the violation of Section 11 (1) of the Act,” the petition had mentioned.

The petitioner had in his petition also contended that the Dera chief delivering sermons while on parole has annoyed the Sikh community, which can lead to violence in Punjab and other states, thereby jeopardizing tranquillity and public order particularly in Punjab.

Haryana had replied earlier that that Dera chief was released for 40 days on regular parole and during that period, he used to reside at the Shah Satnam Ji Ashram situated in the jurisdiction area of Police Station Binoli and he surrendered on March 3, 2023 in time and there was no effect on the law and order situation of the district during his 40 days parole period.

The Punjab government through an affidavit had also submitted that “temporary release of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim is likely to have repercussions on the law and order situation in Punjab”.