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Synopsis

The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that the Haryana government can grant parole to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022. This decision effectively lifts a previous restriction imposed by the court in February, which had barred the state from granting parole to Ram Rahim without court approval.

Ram Rahim, convicted of rape in 2017 and multiple murder cases thereafter, has faced criticism for the repeated grants of parole by the Haryana government. Records reflect that he was released for 91 days each in 2022 and 2023.

The division bench, led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal, disposed of a petition filed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in 2023. The petition had challenged the application of the law in granting temporary release to Ram Rahim. The petitioners argued that the temporary release granted to Ram Rahim, convicted of serious crimes including murder and rape, violated public order and the sovereignty of India. They contended that the release, granted under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, was improper, asserting that the earlier Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 should have been applied.

The court considered whether the Act of 2022 or the repealed Act of 1988 should govern the parole decision. The petitioners claimed that because Singh’s offences occurred before the 2022 Act’s enactment, the older Act should have been used. However, the court found that the Act of 2022, which governs the conditional temporary release of prisoners, was correctly applied. This Act became operational after Singh’s conviction and superseded the 1988 Act, which was formally repealed.

With regards the competent authority authorised to grant parole, the court said, “The competent authority in case of respondent No.9 (Ram Rahim) is the Divisional Commissioner of Police as per notification dated 15.06.2022 issued by the Jail Department of Government of Haryana issued in exercise of the powers under Section 2(1)(a) of the Act of 2022.”

The court also noted that the challenge had become moot since Ram Rahim's parole period of 40 days had ended in March 2023. “This Court refrains 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,” the court remarked.

The court decided not to speculate on future parole requests or potential breaches of public order, stating 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.” Instead, it emphasised that any future applications by Singh for temporary release must be considered strictly under the 2022 Act, ensuring adherence to legal procedures without arbitrariness.

Additionally, the court has expanded the scope of the Public Interest Litigation to include the development of a digital application for tracking parole and furlough applications at the district level. A separate petition will address this issue.

The petition was disposed of with the court's hope that future decisions under the 2022 Act will be made fairly and transparently.

 

Cause Title: Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee versus State of Haryana and others [CWP PIL No. 11 of 2023 (O&M)]