Asaram Bapu gets 20-day parole from Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has granted 20-day parole to self-styled "godman" Asaram Bapu, who is serving a life sentence in a 2013 case of sexually assaulting a minor. The court said the state government failed to justify its decision to reject his parole application.

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjeet Purohit granted relief to the 85-year-old Asaram, who is lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail, taking note of the duration of his incarceration and his conduct during earlier periods of interim release.

It observed that Asaram has already undergone imprisonment for 13 years, one month and 24 days. It noted that he had previously been granted interim bail on several occasions and there was no record of him violating the conditions of bail, attempting to evade the legal process, intimidating witnesses or creating any law and order problem during those periods.

The court in its Monday, August 3, order allowed the first regular parole to Asaram, directing that he be released for 20 days on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 along with two solvent sureties of Rs. 25,000 each.

During the hearing, the State informed the court that Asaram's application had earlier been rejected by a committee headed by the Jodhpur District Collector and District Magistrate.

The police had strongly opposed his release, expressing apprehension that he might abscond if released on parole. The State also invoked Rule 14(A) of the Rajasthan Prisoners Release on Parole Rules, 1958, contending that criminal proceedings against him were pending outside Rajasthan and that he had already been convicted by a court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The government argued that Asaram was undergoing medical treatment and had not been declared medically fit for parole by the competent medical officer. It also submitted that his release could pose a security risk to the victim's family, urging the court to reject the parole plea on these grounds.

The bench, however, concluded that the apprehensions raised by the State and the police were speculative and unsupported by any concrete evidence.

It also stated that Asaram's entitlement to parole in relation to the sentence awarded by the Rajasthan court would be governed solely by the Rajasthan Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.

Proceedings or convictions in other states, the court said, would continue to be dealt with under the respective laws applicable there and could not, by themselves, justify denial of parole in the present case.

On May 27 this year, the Rajasthan High Court had upheld Asaram's conviction and life sentence in the case involving the sexual assault of a minor girl.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court, which was hearing his plea seeking an interim bail on health grounds, was informed that experts from AIIMS have suggested that Asaram does not require hospitalisation for treatment but needs round-the-clock medical assistance.

An apex court bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale has posted the matter for hearing on August 6.