The Nepal Supreme Court has ordered the release of French serial killer Charles Sobhraj after 19 years in prison.
The 78-year-old was infamously called 'the Bikini killer' on the basis of the attire of several of his victims.
A joint bench of justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Tilak Prasad Shrestha ordered to free Sobhraj from jail, on the grounds of the age.
Sobharaj was sentenced to life in 2003 for the murder of American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975 in Nepal. He was awarded a second life sentence in 2014 for the murder of Canadian backpacker, Laurent Carriere.
Sobhraj had filed a plea claiming he had served more time in prison than was recommended for him. He claimed in his petition that he was well behaved in prison and was entitled to the concessions given for senior citizens in Nepal.
The court has also ordered to deport Sobhraj to France within 15 days of his release.
Sobhraj is thought to have murdered at least 20 tourists, including 14 in Thailand. He served time in India between 1976 and 1997.
Sobhraj had a cunning way of deceiving law enforcers.
He had also served prison time in India, a total of 21 years. In 1986 he famously escaped from the high-security Tihar Jail after drugging security guards by serving them spiked sweets on the pretext of celebrating his birthday.
His affluent lifestyle caught the imagination of fiction and non-fiction writers.
At least three books on his life are popular, including Thomas Thompson's 1979 work Serpentine. In April, 2021 Netflix released an eight-part BBC commissioned mini series, 'The Serpent'.
(with agency inputs)