The Supreme Court today listed to June 11, the bail petition filed by convicted self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, challenging a Rajasthan High Court order, which dismissed his plea for temporary suspension of sentence to avail ayurvedic medical treatment (Asaram Bapu vs State of Rajasthan & Ors).
A Bench of Justice Navin Sinha and Justice Ajay Rastogi said, “We have received the reply last evening and we have not read it. List the matter on Friday. In the meanwhile, the state should file the counter reply.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared for the Asharam Bapu, while Senior Advocate Dr Manish Singhvi appeared for the State of Rajasthan.
Earlier on June 4, the Supreme Court had issued notice on the petition filed by the spiritual guru, who has been given a life sentence for raping a 16-year-old girl.
Asaram was convicted of the 2013 attack on the girl, a devotee at his ashram in Jodhpur, by a court in the city’s jail.
Asaram was arrested in 2013 after a case of sexual assault was filed against him by two of his followers, who alleged that he had assaulted their daughter.
Police said that the couple, who had sent the girl to one of his ashrams for spiritual lessons, were summoned to see her as she was “under the influence of some supernatural ghostly powers”.
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They were then told to take their daughter to Jodhpur to meet the guru. The family reached the Jodhpur ashram on August 14, 2013. The following night, Asaram called the victim to his room on the pretext of “curing” her. He then raped the victim while her parents waited outside chanting his prayers, police said.
Police also said the guru forced the victim to perform sexual acts on him and threatened to murder her family if she spoke about the incident. The victim told her parents what had happened the following day. The self-styled godman was then arrested in 2014.
Source:ILNS