The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday rejected the parole plea of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is lodged in Rohtak jail for raping two of his followers.

The petition in this regard was filed by Ram Rahim's wife Harjit Kaur earlier this month on the grounds that his mother was ill.

Earlier in June, the Dera chief had applied for parole for farming in his fields in Haryana's Sirsa. He, however, later withdrew his application.

Ram Rahim is currently lodged at Sunaria jail in Rohtak after being convicted in two rape cases and the murder of a journalist.

He was sentenced in August 2017 to 20 years imprisonment for raping two of his women followers.