Rajasthan HC grants interim bail plea of Asaram, convicted for minor’s rape

JODHPUR: The Rajasthan high court on Monday granted bail to self-styled godman Asaram till July 1 in a 2013 rape case, paving the way for his release from jail.

Monday’s order comes days after the Gujarat high court on March 28 granted him interim bail for three months in another rape case.

Asaram, who was first released on interim bail on medical grounds in January this year, however, had to surrender at the Jodhpur Central Jail on April 1 because the Rajasthan high court hadn’t ruled on his plea.

In its order on Monday, a bench of justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinit Kumar Mathur of the Rajasthan high court said, “The present application seeking extension of the applicant’s interim bail is allowed. The interim bail granted by this court vide order dated January 14, 2025, is extended till July 1, 2025...”

During the hearing earlier, Asaram’s counsel Nishant Bora submitted that the applicant was earlier granted interim bail till March 31 by the Supreme Court. He added that the Gujarat high court, after considering the applicant’s medical condition and other relevant factors, extended the interim bail till June 30, and requested that the Rajasthan high court also extend the relief accordingly.

Opposing the plea, lawyer PC Solanki appearing for the complainant in the rape case said Asaram had misused the liberty granted by the court, claiming he had been meeting followers and delivering sermons while on bail.

In its verdict, the bench said the court had directed Asaram to respond to the accusation and directed the state government to file its response regarding the complainant’s assertions.

“Additional Advocate General Deepak Choudhary drew the court’s attention to statements from two constables who accompanied Asaram throughout his interim bail period, both of whom testified that the applicant did not deliver any sermons,” the court said.

“Though we note that a few disciples did meet the applicant, such isolated instances do not, in our opinion, constitute a breach of the Supreme Court’s order. The applicant has also submitted an affidavit affirming that he neither gave any organised speech/sermon nor met followers in groups,” the high court said.

The high court also ruled against going into claims and counter-claims made on Asaram’s health conditions. “Since the Gujarat High Court has already deeply examined the applicant’s medical condition, we do not wish to undertake the same exercise afresh or take a contrary view,” the high court said.

Bora also told the court that Asaram’s appeal is ripe for hearing, and both he and his client are keen to argue the appeal finally. An application for early hearing has already been moved.

Asaram was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2018 for raping a minor at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur in 2013. He was also convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a district court at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on January 31, 2023 for repeatedly raping a woman disciple.

It was in this Gujarat case that the Supreme Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds on January 7, observing that he was on his “death bed”.