New Delhi, Jan 7: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted medical bail to self-styled godman Asaram Bapu till March 31. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal of the apex court extended the relief solely on humanitarian grounds to allow him to undertake medical treatment.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, submitted that Asaram should not be released since adequate medical facilities were already available to him in custody.
On the other hand, Asaram’s counsel highlighted grave inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecutrix. Without entering into the merits of the matter, the Justice Sundresh-led Bench asked Asaram to adhere to the conditions imposed, including the condition not to meet his followers upon his release from jail.
The top court suggested that Asaram’s health condition may be re-assessed before the expiry of medical bail. In January 2023, a court in Gujarat convicted Asaram in a decade-old sexual assault case involving a woman disciple and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The victim had accused Asaram of repeatedly raping her at his ashram in 2013.
Before this, the self-styled godman was convicted of raping a minor girl by a special POCSO court in Jodhpur which sentenced him to life imprisonment. He has been in jail since September 2, 2013. Asaram was granted parole for 30 days by Jodhpur High Court on November 7, 2024 for treatment at a private Ayurvedic hospital located at Bhagat Ki Kothi in Jodhpur. He got parole for treatment for the second time in 11 years. Earlier, he got seven days parole in August.
IANS