The Supreme Court has directed the Rajasthan government to respond to a plea by self-styled godman Asaram challenging his conviction and life sentence in a 2013 minor rape case. Asaram’s special leave petition against the Rajasthan High Court’s May 27 judgment was considered by a Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Sheel Nagu.
Senior counsel representing Asaram requested his immediate release on medical grounds due to his advanced age and declining health during the hearing. However, the apex court refused to grant interim relief, stating that it would first hear the Rajasthan government’s position before deciding on the suspension of sentence. The case is scheduled for the next hearing on July 13.
Asaram contested the Rajasthan High Court’s Jodhpur Bench judgment upholding his conviction and life sentence in the 2013 case involving the sexual assault of a minor student. The appeal was dismissed by a Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Yogendra Kumar Purohit, who acquitted co-accused Shilpi and Sharad Chandra.
Following the Rajasthan High Court’s decision, Asaram surrendered at the Jodhpur Central Jail on May 28 after being on interim medical bail. The case revolves around allegations of a minor student being sexually assaulted at Asaram’s Chhindwara Gurukul in 2013, under the pretext of spiritual treatment by the self-styled godman.
Asaram, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special POCSO Court in Jodhpur on April 25, 2018, is also serving a life term in another sexual assault case at his Gandhinagar ashram in Gujarat.
