The Gujarat High Court has extended the temporary bail of Asaram by one more month, warning that this is the final opportunity being granted. A division bench comprising Justice Elesh Vora and Justice P.M. Raval passed the order on Thursday. Earlier, the court had granted Asaram temporary bail on medical grounds on 28 March, which was set to expire on 30 June. The court later extended it until 7 July, and now it has approved one final extension of one month. A detailed order is awaited.
Background:
Asaram was granted interim relief by the Supreme Court until 31 March, with directions to approach the Gujarat High Court for further relief. During the hearing at the High Court, due to differing opinions from two judges, the case was referred to a third judge, who granted him a three-month temporary bail.
The Conviction:
In January 2023, a Gandhinagar court sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment for repeatedly raping a woman disciple. The victim, a resident of Surat, stayed at Asaram’s Motera ashram in Ahmedabad between 2001 and 2006, during which the assaults allegedly occurred.
Asaram was convicted under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including:
- 376(2)(C) – Rape by a person in authority
- 377 – Unnatural offences
- 342 – Wrongful confinement
- 354 – Outraging a woman’s modesty
- 357 – Assault
- 506 – Criminal intimidation
He is already serving a life sentence in Jodhpur Central Jail for the 2013 rape of a minor girl in Rajasthan.
