In a recent development, the Rajasthan High Court has ordered the District Parole Advisory Committee in Jodhpur to reconsider the parole application of Asaram Bapu, who is seeking 20 days of parole under the Rajasthan Prisoners Release on Parole Rules, 1958. This decision came in response to a petition filed by Asaram challenging the rejection of his parole application by the Committee, which had initially based its decision on the 2021 Parole Rules.
The Bench, comprising of Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Yogendra Kumar Purohit, overturned the Committee’s decision and issued the following directive:
“The decision taken by the District Parole Advisory Committee, Jodhpur in its meeting dated 20.06.2023, refusing to grant parole of 20 days’ to the petitioner, is hereby set aside and the respondents are directed to consider the application filed by the petitioner for releasing him on 20 days’ parole afresh in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of 1958, instead of the provisions of the Rules of 2021, within a period of six weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order.”
Asaram Bapu was arrested in 2013 on charges of raping a minor girl. The alleged incident took place in Jodhpur’s Manai village in August 2013. Following an FIR registered against him on August 20, 2013, he was arrested on the midnight of August 31, 2013, under charges made out under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ Act) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was later convicted and sentenced by the trial court in April 2018.
Asaram’s counsel argued that since his client was convicted and sentenced in 2018, three years before the 2021 Parole Rules were enacted, his parole should be considered under the Rules framed in 1958. Despite opposing his writ petition, the State’s counsel could not dispute that Asaram’s request for 20 days of parole should be evaluated according to the regulations outlined in the 1958 Rules.
In response to these arguments, the Court directed the respondents to reconsider Asaram’s application for parole in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of 1958, instead of the provisions of the Rules of 2021, within a period of six weeks.
Asaram was represented by Advocates Kalu Ram Bhati, SD Chavariya and Lalit Kishore Sen, while the State was represented by Advocates Anil Joshi and Pallav Sharma. This case serves as a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings involving Asaram Bapu.