Jodhpur: The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday (January 14) granted interim bail to self-styled godman Asaram in a 2013 minor’s rape case in which he is serving life sentence.
Asaram had recently moved the High Court seeking suspension of sentence in the rape case to avail the interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court on January 7 in a separate rape case.
Supreme Court granted Asaram interim bail in another rape case on medical grounds till March 31
The apex court granted Asaram interim bail to Asaram till March 31 on medical grounds in a rape case in which a Gandhinagar trial court convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
A division bench comprising Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur granted interim bail to Asaram considering that the nature of the plea filed by him was similar to the one filed before the Supreme Court.
What did Asaram’s counsel say?
“We argued that the plea was similar in nature to that filed in the Supreme Court and the grounds stand valid in this case as well,” Asaram’s counsel Nishant Bora told news agency PTI.
Bora further said that the conditions for interim bail to Asaram in the case before the High Court are the same as those set by the top court on January 7 except one.
“If Asaram wants to travel outside (Jodhpur), he will have to bear the expenses of the three constables who have been asked to accompany him,” Bora added.
A Jodhpur POCSO court sentenced Asaram to imprisonment for remainder of his natural life in a minor’s rape case
A special Jodhpur POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court had convicted Asaram in the rape case of minor in 2018 for various offences of sexual assault, including rape. It had sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life.
The minor girl victim in her complaint had stated that Asaram had called her to his ashram near Jodhpur and raped her there on the night of August 15, 2013.
