The New Indian Express ·
Gujarat High Court denies self-styled godman Asaram temporary bail in 2013 rape case
AHMEDABAD: Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu suffered a major legal setback on Tuesday after the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea seeking 20-day temporary bail in the 2013 rape case.
Asaram was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gandhinagar court in the case. He approached the Gujarat High Court after the Rajasthan High Court granted him 20-day parole last month in connection with a separate rape case.
During the hearing, a division bench of Justice Gita Gopi and Justice L.S. Pirzada heard arguments from Asaram’s senior counsel, who said the Rajasthan High Court granted parole considering his age and the fact that he had spent more than 13 years incarcerated in the separate case.
The counsel also submitted that the Rajasthan High Court had found the grounds cited by the authorities for opposing his parole to be misleading and without a factual basis. Relying on that order, Asaram sought similar temporary relief in the 2013 rape case.
However, the Gujarat government strongly opposed the plea. Public Prosecutor Hardik Dave, appearing for the state, contested Asaram's demand for temporary bail and opposed any relief in the 2013 rape case.
After considering the submissions, the Gujarat High Court declined to accept the Rajasthan parole order as a ground for granting temporary bail in the 2013 rape case.
Asaram’s counsel also referred to his pending proceedings before the Supreme Court concerning his conviction in the separate Rajasthan rape case.
However, the Gujarat High Court found no grounds to grant him temporary bail. With the plea dismissed, Asaram remains without temporary bail relief in the 2013 rape case.