Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], August 8 : The Gujarat High Court on Thursday extended the bail of self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu in a rape case, till August 21, on medical grounds.
Asaram has been in jail since August 2013 for allegedly raping a schoolgirl and was arrested after the 16-year-old, whose parents were both devotees, lodged a complaint with police. Two months later, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai were booked for allegedly raping two sisters at their ashram in Surat, Gujarat.
Earlier in January, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Asaram on medical grounds till the end of March in the 2013 rape case.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal directed that Asaram shall not attempt to tamper with the evidence, and shall not meet his followers after he is released on interim bail. Three policemen will escort Asaram, and they will not interfere in the treatment, the bench ordered.
The bench noted that Asaram has various age-related health conditions and had two heart attacks."We are inclined to grant bail to the petitioner on medical grounds by the end of March. The petitioner shall not make any attempt to tamper with the evidence, shall not meet his followers," the order stated.
Asaram is serving a life imprisonment sentence at Jodhpur Central Jail.
Approaching the apex court, Asaram has sought bail citing deteriorating health and the need for advanced medical treatment.
Asaram also sought the suspension of the life imprisonment sentence imposed on him by a trial court in a rape case in Gujarat.
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.