Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said that the state government has not yet taken a decision on self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's appeal for parole.
Khattar also asserted that the state government cannot stop anyone from seeking parole.
The Chief Minister opined that as per certain legal procedures, a person who has the right to seek parole can ask for it.
"There are certain legal procedures and a person who has the right to seek parole can seek it. We cannot stop anyone. As of now, no decision has been taken on Ram Rahim's parole," Khattar said during an event.
Ram Rahim, who is serving life imprisonment in Rohtak's Sunaria jail for the murder of a journalist and 20 years in prison for raping two of his women followers, had sought parole in a letter to the jail authorities.
He sought parole saying he wants to farm his land in Sirsa, which is lying barren.
Jail authorities had sent his parole appeal to the district administration which, in turn, forwarded it to the Haryana government.
A special CBI court in Panchkula had on January 17 this year sentenced Ram Rahim and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ramchander Chhatrapati in October 2002.
The journalist was killed in Sirsa after his newspaper published an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of women by Ram Rahim at his Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in the town.
He was sentenced in August 2017 to 20 years imprisonment for raping two of his women followers.
( With inputs from ANI )