The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Asaram on medical grounds until March 31 in connection with a 2013 rape case. The decision was made after considering his health condition, which the court deemed required urgent medical attention. The top court allowed Asaram bail with conditions for undergoing treatment for his heart ailment. Currently, he is undergoing treatment at the Arogya Medical Center in Bhagat Ki Kothi, where he was transferred from Jodhpur Central Jail.
According to his lawyer, Asaram is a heart patient and has previously suffered a heart attack. The court considered his deteriorating health while granting the interim relief. The court emphasised that the bail is strictly for medical treatment and does not affect his conviction or life sentence. It also directed the deployment of police personnel during Asaram's treatment to ensure security.
SC on Asaram's plea seeking suspension of sentence
Earlier in November 2024, the Supreme Court had sought a response from the Gujarat government on a plea filed by jailed Asaram seeking suspension of the life sentence imposed on him by a trial court in a 2013 rape case. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar told the counsel appearing for Asaram that it would examine the issue only if there were medical grounds.
Rape case against Asaram
It should be mentioned here that Asaram was arrested in August 2013 in connection with a rape case. Since then, he has been in custody after being arrested in Indore and brought to Jodhpur for raping a teenage girl in his ashram that year. The girl had reported that she was called to his ashram near Jodhpur and assaulted by him on the night of August 15, 2013. In 2018, Asaram was found guilty by a special court in Jodhpur for crimes like sexual assault, including rape and was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
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