Jodhpur: Self-styled godman Asaram has moved a fresh plea before the Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur seeking to avail the interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court on Tuesday in another case.
A top court bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal on Tuesday had granted interim bail to Asaram till March 31 on medical grounds in a rape case in which he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gandhinagar court.
Interim bail granted by apex court will not be enough for Asaram to come out of Jodhpur Central jail
Asaram, who is serving life sentence in a separate rape case in Jodhpur Central Jail, has received the major relief for the first time from any of the courts since his arrest in the rape case in August 2013, however, the interim bail granted by the apex court will not be enough for him to come out of Jodhpur Central jail as he is also serving sentence in another rape case.
What did Asaram’s counsel say?
One of the counsels representing Asaram at Jodhpur, Nishant Bora, said that the relief by the apex court has been given in another case and it will not be enough for him to avail this relief until he gets the similar relief from the Rajasthan High Court.
“So, we have moved an application in the high court in the light of the order of the Supreme Court with a similar prayer of suspension of sentence,” Bora told news agency PTI and added, “The grounds this plea has taken are the old age and physical ailments as always, apart from the long period he has already served in the jail.”
A POCSO court in Jodhpur sentenced Asaram to imprisonment for remainder of his natural life in a minor’s rape case
A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court in Jodhpur had convicted Asaram in the minor’s rape case in 2018 for various offences of sexual assault, including rape, and had sentenced sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life. The minor girl victim in her complaint had said that Asaram had called her to his ashram near Jodhpur and raped her there on the night of August 15, 2013.
