New Delhi:

A week after self-styled godman Asaram returned to prison in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur after 17-day parole, the Supreme Court today granted him interim bail on medical grounds. Asaram, who was convicted in a 2013 rape case, will, however, remain in jail as he has to get interim bail in another rape case.

The 83-year-old, whose real name is Asumal Sirumalani Harpalani, was arrested for raping a schoolgirl in his ashram in Jodhpur in 2013. He was later also convicted of raping a woman at his ashram near Gujarat’s Gandhinagar in 2013.

Supreme Court Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal granted him interim bail till March 31 but ordered that he can’t meet his followers after he is released.

The court also told police officers to escort Asaram to hospital, but not dictate where he should go for the treatment.

Asaram’s lawyers requested interim bail on the grounds that he is suffering from serious medical ailments.

He returned to jail on January 1 after his parole (15 days of parole and 2 days for travelling) ended.

Last year, he took treatment in Pune. He was also admitted to AIIMS Jodhpur after he developed some heart-related ailment.

Asaram’s Rape Case

A court in Jodhpur in 2018 sentenced Asaram to life in prison after finding him guilty of raping a 16-year-old in his ashram in 2013. His two accomplices were sentenced to 20 years in jail by the court in the same case.

In January 2023, he was also convicted of raping a woman at one of his ashrams, near Gandhinagar, in 2013.

The Supreme Court had last year sought a response from the Gujarat government on a plea filed by Asaram seeking suspension of the life sentence imposed on him by a trial court in the 2013 rape case.

The court told the lawyer appearing for Asaram that it would examine the issue only if there were medical grounds.

The Gujarat High Court in August rejected his plea for the suspension of life imprisonment handed by a Gandhinagar court in 2023. Refusing to suspend the sentence and grant him bail, the high court had observed that no case for relief was made out.

Jodhpur:

Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu returned to Jodhpur jail on Wednesday after being released on a 17-day parole.

The parole was granted for 17 days, starting from December 18 last month.

The self-styled godman, who had been under treatment in Pune, has been serving a life imprisonment sentence at Jodhpur Central Jail in a sexual assault case.

Earlier, Advocate Yaspali Singh Rajpurohit, representing Asaram, spoke to ANI and confirmed that he was lodged in jail as per the High Court’s orders.

“The High Court had issued an order that stated that Asaram had to return to jail before January 2 otherwise it would be a contempt of court. He was brought back to the Jodhpur jail today itself,” he said.

According to an official order from the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur, Asaram was to return to jail as per the conditions of his parole on January 2. Since he was released on a 17-day parole (15 days of parole and 2 days for traveling), he returned to jail on January 1.

“The applicant shall surrender himself before the Superintendent of Central Jail, Jodhpur by 5 pm on January 2,” said the official order.

Earlier on November 22, 2024, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Gujarat government on a plea filed by self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu seeking the suspension of the life imprisonment sentence imposed on him by a trial court in a rape case.

The bench said that it would issue notice, but would consider only medical conditions.

Counsel appearing for Asaram told the bench that he was suffering from serious medical ailments and sought his interim release from jail.

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

In August, while hearing an appeal against the trial court verdict, the Gujarat High Court declined to suspend his life imprisonment sentence.

Thereafter, Asaram had moved to the top court seeking release from jail.

Asaram was in Indore and brought to Jodhpur for raping a teenage girl in his ashram in 2013. after being arrested.

The girl had reported that she was called to his ashram near Jodhpur and assaulted by him on the night of August 15, 2013.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)