Gujarat HC extends temporary bail of Asaram till August 21; cites his critical health condition

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday extended till August 21 the temporary bail plea of self-styled godman Asaram, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gandhinagar court in a 2013 rape case.

The division bench of Justices Ilesh Vora and PM Raval extended Asaram's temporary bail till August 21 on medical grounds after observing that he was in ICU at a private hospital and his health condition was critical.

While granting him temporary bail for the third time, the court noted an order passed by the Supreme Court on July 30 granting him liberty to approach the HC for temporary bail extension mainly on the ground of deterioration of his health.

"The applicant presently is in ICU with Jupiter Hospital at Indore and as per the records, he was diagnosed with very high troponin level and according to the treating doctor, his condition is critical. In such circumstances, pending this application, the temporary bail granted earlier is extended till August 21 on the same terms and conditions," the HC order stated.

The court had earlier granted him an interim extension till July 7, and then extended the relief for another month.

While granting him extension then, the court had clarified that no further prayer for extension of temporary bail will be entertained on medical grounds.

Asaram had first approached HC when interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court till March 31 on medical grounds was coming to an end, as the apex court had directed him to do so if he needed any extension.

The division bench of HC had then delivered a split verdict, after which a third judge to whom the matter was referred granted him three-month temporary bail.

In January 2023, a court in Gandhinagar had sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment in a rape case. He is also serving life sentence in another case of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.

The court convicted Asaram in a case registered in 2013 for raping a woman disciple, who hailed from Surat, on several occasions from 2001 to 2006 when she was living at his ashram at Motera near Ahmedabad.

He was convicted under Indian Penal Code sections 376 2 (C) (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful detention), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 357 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation).