Asaram's interim bail extended till July 9 by Rajasthan HC

Jaipur, July 1 (IANS) Self-styled godman and sexual assault convict Asaram has once again received relief from the court with the Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday extending his interim bail, till July 9, on medical grounds.

The decision was given by the division bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vineet Mathur. Earlier, the Gujarat High Court had also granted interim bail to Asaram till July 7. His previous bail period, granted for health reasons, had ended on June 30, after which he approached the court for an extension.

According to medical reports submitted in court, Asaram, currently serving life imprisonment in two separate sexual assault cases, is suffering from prostate-related issues and has 90 per cent blockage in two heart arteries. He is currently undergoing ayurvedic and naturopathy treatment. During this period of interim bail, Asaram also met his son Narayan Sai after 11 years. Sai travelled to Jodhpur and visited Asaram at the Pal Ashram, where he is staying during his medical treatment.

In the first case, Asaram was arrested in 2013 in Jodhpur for raping a minor girl and was later sentenced to life in prison. In the second case, a woman from Surat accused him of repeatedly raping her at the Gandhinagar Ashram in Gujarat. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in this case as well in January 2023.

Asaram's lawyer told the court that he is yet to get a certificate from the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), which confirms his age above 70 years and terminal illness. The lawyer also said that after the last bail order, it took him 10 more days to process the bail, so he actually got less time outside prison.

The opposing party's lawyer raised the question that Asaram is going from one hospital to another in the name of treatment, which raises the suspicion that he wants to stay out of jail by any means. He suggested that Jodhpur also has excellent ayurvedic hospitals and an AIIMS, where treatment is possible.

However, the Gujarat High Court, while granting him interim bail, orally said that the Supreme Court has recently made it clear that repeatedly extending temporary bail becomes an endless process, which should be stopped. The court indicated that a decision may be taken in the next hearing.

--IANS

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