NEW DELHI, Jan 7: The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to 86-year old self-styled godman Asaram Bapu on medical grounds till March 31 while restricting him from meeting his followers in a group.
A Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal passed the order on Monday while disposing of his plea for suspension of sentence. The petition filed by Asaram, through advocates Rajesh Inamdar and Shashwat Anand, had said his health was precarious and rapidly deteriorating.
Senior advocate Devadutt Kamat, for Asaram, said his client’s conviction was based solely on the testimony of the survivor while alleging inconsistencies in the prosecution’s version. However, the Bench restricted itself from entering into the domain of the merits of the case and focussed solely on submissions made regarding Asaram’s health while allowing bail.
Mr Kamat said Asaram had “suffered a series of heart attacks and his latest coronary angiography report showed arterial blockages of up to 99%.” “The petitioner who is in the twilight of his life, aged more than 85 years, is apprehending that he may die in jail if he is not allowed to take treatment from a hospital/doctor of his choice which is fundamental right granted to every person regardless of the fact whether he is a convict or an undertrial,” Asaram’s plea had stated.
It said the godman had already served 11 years of imprisonment. The petitioner argued that a suspension of the sentence was imperative to safeguard not only his health but also to prevent the imposition of a punishment that could be tantamount to a death sentence.
The self-styled godman was convicted by the special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court at Jodhpur, and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a teenage girl in his ashram. He is serving a life sentence in the Central Jail, Jodhpur.
A Gandhinagar Sessions Court in Gujarat had also convicted Asaram in another rape case in January 2023, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Gujarat, opposed the plea, emphasising the gravity of Asaram’s conviction and asserting that adequate medical facilities were available to him in custody.
Granting relief, the Bench, however, clarified that bail had been granted solely on humanitarian grounds. The court also indicated that Asaram’s medical status could be reassessed closer to the expiration of the bail term.
(Manas Dasgupta)
