Chandigarh, Jan. 12 -- When the chief of the Sirsa based sect, Dera Sacha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh stepped out of Rohtak's Sunaria jail on January 5 to avail his 40-day parole, he had spent 365 days - almost a year out of confinement during his 3,054 days (about eight years and four months) of sentence. This is the 15th occasion that he has been granted a temporary release since 2020. The controversial head of the Sirsa-based sect, designated as convict 8647/C in prison records, is serving a 20-year jail term at Sunaria jail after he was convicted by a special CBI court in 2017 for raping two women disciples. He was subsequently convicted in two murder cases and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019 and 2021 but was acquitted in 2024 by the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) in one case. His life sentence will start after this jail term. Ram Rahim and three others were convicted in January 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 18 years ago. In October 2021, the sect head and four others were convicted by the special CBI court for hatching a conspiracy to kill Dera manager, Ranjit Singh. Ram Rahim however was acquitted by the HC in May 2024 in the Ranjit Singh murder case. His repeated paroles have attracted criticism from victims' families, who have often blamed the Haryana government for what they describe as "generosity" towards him. Yet his case is not an isolated one. The state government had in June 2024 furnished details of 89 convicts who had been sentenced in three or more cases having life term and fixed term sentences and were granted parole and furlough between May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024. The information was submitted before a HC bench hearing a petition by SGPC. The petitioner had contended that the government was misusing its powers under Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, by granting temporary release to Ram Rahim who is suffering multiple sentences including that of life for committing grave offences such as murder and rape and would jeopardise the sovereignty and integrity of India and adversely affect public order if released. The HC in its August 9, 2024, order upheld the application of Act of 2022 to Ram Rahim's 40-day parole and cautioned Haryana government against arbitrariness in future releases. The government also told the HC that parole of only two convicts sentenced to life for rape and murder - Ram Pal lodged in Central Jail, Ambala and Jitender lodged in Yamunanagar district jail - were rejected by the divisional commissioner between May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024. Prison officials said the plea for temporary release of the two convicts was rejected as Ram Pal had absconded for 49 days while being on parole in 2021 and Yamunananagar district magistrate found the house of Jitender locked with his family having migrated to some other place. The Haryana government in 2022 enacted a legislation, Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, which entitled a prisoner to 10 weeks of parole in a calendar year (January to December) cumulatively which could be availed in two parts. The new law also permitted temporary release of three weeks on furlough which could not be availed in parts. The government, after seeking legal opinion from the then advocate general (AG) BR Mahajan in 2022 concluded that Ram Rahim did not fall in the category of hardcore prisoners - defined as those who, among several other crimes, are convicted for "serial killing", that is murder under Section 302 of the IPC in two or more cases in different FIRs. "The term used in this provision is 'murder' simpliciter and no other offence is mentioned anywhere. It indicates the legislation intended to cover only the actual killer under the definition of hardcore prisoner and not the conspirator. In order to cover a prisoner under the definition of hardcore prisoner, it is necessary that he must have participated in actual commission of the substantive offence of murder under Section 302 IPC. The aiding offence of criminal conspiracy under Section 120-B read with Section 302 IPC will not be covered under the category of hardcore prisoner,'' the then AG wrote. The category of hardcore prisoners was introduced in 2012 as an amendment to the earlier Act. Such convicts face severe restrictions - only 48 to 96 hours of temporary release under an armed police escort and only to attend a marriage or in the event of death of close family members. When a prisoner is on parole, his period of release does not count towards the sentence period. But when he is on furlough, he is eligible to have the period of release counted towards the total period of his sentence undergone by him. Thus, the period of sentence spent on furlough by the prisoners need not be undergone by him as is done in the case of parole. As per the 2022 law, once Ram Rahim has completed three-fourths of the total sentence in a term (in this case, the rape conviction), and 10 years of the life sentence (for murder), he can avail of four weeks of furlough, but not in parts. Anshul Chhatrapati, son of slain journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, for whose murder Ram Rahim is serving a life sentence says that Dera head's frequent release from jail was creating a threat to the life of victims and their kin. "He is still facing trial in certain cases. The victims in the undertrial cases have often cited threats to life. His frequent release poses risk to them," he said. There are those who feel that Dera's revival is being steered with the active connivance of the government. "There is a tacit understanding between Dera and the ruling dispensation. He is invariably out of the confines whenever polling is scheduled to elect a government in a northern state. There is a definite quid pro quo," said a retired Haryana IPS officer. In early 2024, two BJP leaders - Krishan Lal Panwar and Krishen Bedi (both ministers now) - attended a virtual satsang addressed by Dera head and interacted with him. Though the two denied any political motive, the opposition Congress criticised their action as a "vote-catching ploy". In 2022, Haryana BJP leaders, including the then Karnal mayor Renu Gupta, attended an online congregation addressed by the Dera head, triggering criticism. Prof Ashutosh Kumar, a political scientist from Panjab University, Chandigarh, says the Dera chief remains electorally relevant to an extent due to the influence and following commanded by his sect. State officials, however, have denied such claims, stating every convict has the right to be considered for temporary release. A 2023 HC order which quashed a divisional commissioner's decision of denying parole without adequate justification is often cited....