• Source:JND
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Rape convict Asaram Bapu returned to Jodhpur Jail on Wednesday after being released on a 17-day parole, which began on December 18, 2024.

Asaram, who had been receiving medical treatment in Pune, is serving a life imprisonment sentence at Jodhpur Central Jail for a sexual assault case.

In January 2023, a sessions court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, convicted Asaram under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the 2013 rape of a female disciple at his Surat Ashram.

In August 2024, while hearing an appeal against the trial court's verdict, the Gujarat High Court declined to suspend Asaram’s life imprisonment sentence. Asaram subsequently moved to the Supreme Court, seeking release from jail.

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Advocate Yaspali Singh Rajpurohit, representing Asaram, confirmed that he had returned to jail in accordance with the High Court's orders. "The High Court had issued an order stating that Asaram had to return to jail by January 2, or it would be considered contempt of court. He was brought back to Jodhpur Jail today," Rajpurohit said.

An official order from the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan in Jodhpur stated that Asaram was required to return to jail as per the conditions of his parole on January 2. Since his parole included 15 days for medical treatment and 2 days for travel, he returned to jail on January 1.

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The order noted, "The applicant shall surrender before the Superintendent of Central Jail, Jodhpur, by 5 pm on January 2."

On November 22, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Gujarat government regarding a plea filed by Asaram Bapu, requesting the suspension of his life imprisonment sentence. The Court stated it would consider the plea based on his medical conditions.

Counsel for Asaram informed the bench that he was suffering from serious health issues and sought interim release from jail.

Asaram had been in Indore before being brought to Jodhpur following his arrest for raping a teenage girl at his ashram in 2013. The girl reported that she had been called to his ashram near Jodhpur and assaulted by him on the night of August 15, 2013.