New Delhi: The Rajasthan high court has granted the first regular parole for a period of 20 days to self-styled godman Asaram who is presently serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting a minor girl.A bench comprising acting Chief justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjeet Purohit on Monday (July 3) granted parole to Asaram after taking note of the duration of his incarceration and his conduct during previous occasions of interim release, reported Press Trust of India.Asaram is presently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail. The court on Monday directed that Asaram be released for 20 days on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 along with two solvent sureties of Rs. 25,000 each.The police had strongly opposed Asaram’s release and had expressed apprehension that the self-styled godman may abscond if released on parole. It had invoked Rule 14(A) of the Rajasthan Prisoners Release on Parole Rules, 1958, contending that criminal proceedings against Asaram were pending outside Rajasthan and that he had already been convicted by a court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.The state had also told the court during the hearing that Asaram’s application had earlier been rejected by a committee headed by the Jodhpur district collector and district magistrate.In its submissions before the court, the state said that Asaram was undergoing medical treatment and had not been declared medically fit for parole by the competent medical officer. It added that his release could pose a security risk to the victim’s family, and urged the court to reject the parole plea on these grounds.However, the court concluded that the apprehensions raised by the state and the police were speculative and were not supported by any concrete evidence.The high court added that proceedings or convictions in other states 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.In May this year, the high court had upheld Asaram’s conviction under Section 376(2)(F) (rape of a minor by someone in a position of trust), backing the existing life imprisonment sentence for the remainder of his natural life.