Rakia Imran
On 14 January 2024, Godman Asaram Bapu was granted interim bail by the Rajasthan High Court on medical grounds in a 2013 case concerning the sexual assault of a minor.
In a case dating back to 2013, Asaram Bapu was sentenced in April 2018 for raping a minor, with the crime reportedly committed in Jodhpur’s Manai village. Various charges were filed against him under the Indian Penal Code (1860), Juvenile Justice Act (2015) , and POCSO Act (2012), covering offences such as rape, trafficking, criminal intimidation, outraging a woman’s modesty, and wrongful confinement.
In the wake of Asaram’s arrest, two Surat-based women too filed a complaint, claiming that they were sexually assaulted by Asaram and his son between 2002 and 2005.
Starting in 2014, the trial for the Jodhpur rape case spanned four years. Throughout the proceedings, nine witnesses were assaulted, three of whom were murdered. In 2018, he was finally found guilty. Furthermore, a plea for suspension of sentence was submitted by Asaram to the High Court in 2022, but it was turned down.
Asaram was represented by Advocates RS Saluja, Nishant Bora, Acharaj Singh, Yashpal Singh Rajpurohit and Bharat Sain. Whereas, AAG Deepak Choudhary represented the State and the complainant was represented by Advocate PC Solanki.
And today, a Division-Bench comprising Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur had granted Asaram interim bail until March 31 this year on medical grounds and the same has been followed by the High Court in the present case as well.
Case Title: Asaram Bapu v State
Case Number: 220/2022
Bench: Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur