Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, who is currently serving time in prison for a conviction in a rape and murder case, has been given 50-day parole as of Friday. This comes after a 21-day furlough granted to him in November 2023, during which he walked out of Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak district on November 21. Remarkably, this marks the third instance of his temporary release from incarceration in 2023.

Prior to this recent 50-day parole, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief had previously been released from Sunaria jail on a 30-day parole starting July 30. Before that, he was granted a 40-day parole in January and another 40-day parole in October 2022. Prior to the October parole, he had a month-long parole in June of the same year. 

Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for the sexual assault of two of his disciples. In 2021, he, along with four accomplices, was convicted for conspiring to murder Ranjit Singh, a Dera manager. Furthermore, in 2019, the Dera chief and three others were found guilty of the murder of a journalist that occurred over 16 years ago.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong opposition to the decision of the Haryana government to grant a 21-day furlough to the Dera chief. Dhami emphasized that the Dera chief is serving a sentence for serious crimes such as rape and murder. He voiced concern that this decision was contributing to the creation of an atmosphere of mistrust within the Sikh community.

Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed his concern that, despite the repeated temporary releases granted to the Dera chief, the governments were not paying heed to the appeals raised by the Sikh community for the release of 'Bandi Singhs' (Sikh prisoners).

Last year, in December the Delhi High Court issued a notice in response to a suit for injunction filed by Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh against YouTuber Shyam Meera Singh. Gurmeet Ram Rahim sought a court directive for the removal of a video uploaded by Singh.