Today, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Gujarat government regarding a petition filed by self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is seeking the suspension of his life imprisonment sentence in a rape case, as imposed by a trial court.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar, however, clarified that it would only consider whether there are medical grounds to grant Asaram interim release from jail.
"We will issue notice, but we will consider only on medical conditions. (It is a) POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) case," the Bench said.
Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, representing Asaram, informed the Court that the godman was suffering from severe medical conditions, which, he argued, necessitated his interim release from jail.
"He has multiple blockages. Doctors advise, in winter, he should be temperature-controlled room - else he will perish," Naidu said.
"Earlier, you (Asaram) refused treatment and wanted your choice of hospital," the Court pointed out
"I could not do bypass or allopathic, hence I wanted Ayurveda," Asaram's counsel replied.
The Court eventually issued notice returnable by three weeks.
In January 2023, a sessions court in Gandhinagar convicted Asaram Bapu under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with a 2013 rape case involving the repeated assault of a female disciple at a Surat Ashram.
An appeal against this verdict is currently pending before the Gujarat High Court. Meanwhile, Asaram filed a plea before the High Court seeking his interim release from jail.
In August this year, the Gujarat High Court rejected his request to suspend the life imprisonment sentence, stating that no exceptional grounds were presented to justify his interim release while his appeal remained unresolved.
This prompted Asaram to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.
As per the plea, filed by advocates Rajesh Inamdar and Shashwat Anand, Asaram argues that his conviction is flawed due to inconsistencies and reliance on uncorroborated testimony from the complainant. He maintains that there is no medical or independent evidence to support the charges, claiming he has been falsely implicated to damage his reputation and remove him from his ashram.
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