NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Gujarat government on a petition by jailed self-styled godman Asaram, seeking suspension of the life sentence handed to him in a 2013 rape case.
A bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar clarified that it would only examine the request based on medical grounds.
“We will issue notice, but we will consider only on medical conditions,” the bench stated while scheduling the hearing for December 13.
Asaram, currently serving his sentence in Jodhpur jail for a separate rape case, was convicted by a Gandhinagar court in January 2023 for raping a woman who had been living in his ashram near Gandhinagar at the time of the crime.
His appeal against this conviction was earlier rejected by the Gujarat high court on August 29, which denied his request to suspend the sentence, citing a lack of grounds for relief.
In its decision, the Gujarat high court observed that factors like his age, medical condition, and the possibility of delays in the disposal of his appeal did not warrant suspension of the sentence. The court also took into account Asaram’s antecedents, including allegations of the murder of two boys at his Sabarmati ashram and attacks on witnesses and victims’ families.
“Asaram’s claim of a conspiracy and his contention about the survivor’s delay in filing the complaint were not sufficient to justify bail,” the high court had noted.
The trial court’s conviction was based on evidence and the survivor’s testimony, despite the 12-year delay in lodging the complaint, which Asaram’s plea called erroneous.
Asaram has also appealed against his conviction in the Jodhpur rape case, but the Rajasthan high court rejected his application for suspension of the sentence in January 2023.