In a big improvement, the Rajasthan Excessive Court docket on Tuesday granted interim bail to self-styled godman Asaram, who’s at present serving a life sentence for the 2013 rape of a minor at his ashram in Jodhpur. The interim reduction has been granted till March 31, 2025.
This choice comes only a week after the Supreme Court docket of India supplied Asaram with bail in one other rape case, citing his severe well being points and the necessity for medical remedy. The Supreme Court docket had prolonged his bail on medical grounds, which prompted Asaram’s authorized group to file an identical software for a suspension of his sentence earlier than the Rajasthan Excessive Court docket.
A division bench comprising Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vineet Kumar Mathur heard the plea and granted interim bail, noting that the request made earlier than the Excessive Court docket mirrored the one filed earlier than the Supreme Court docket. Asaram’s counsel, Nishant Bora, defined that the grounds offered for bail remained constant in each circumstances, highlighting the godman’s deteriorating well being.
The situations for Asaram’s interim bail, as said by the Excessive Court docket, are largely much like these set by the Supreme Court docket. Nevertheless, one key distinction is that if Asaram needs to journey outdoors Jodhpur, he must cowl the bills of three constables assigned to accompany him.
Asaram, who was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of the minor in 2013, had been battling a sequence of authorized and medical challenges. His conviction has attracted important media consideration, as he continues to take care of his innocence, claiming that the costs towards him are fabricated.
The Excessive Court docket’s choice to grant interim bail displays the rising concern over his well being, in addition to the continued authorized battles he faces. His launch on medical grounds is topic to the phrases set by each the Supreme Court docket and the Rajasthan Excessive Court docket.