SC declines to grant interim bail to Asaram Bapu for Ayurvedic treatment in Uttarakhand

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea of self-styled godman and life convict, Asaram Bapu, seeking temporary suspension of his sentence to pursue medical treatment at an Ayurveda center in Uttarakhand.

A Bench headed by Justice Indira Banerjee denied interim bail to Asaram saying his crime was not an ordinary crime.

"Taking an overall view, this is not an ordinary crime at all. You will get all your Ayurvedic treatment in the jail itself," the Bench said.

During the hearing, the apex court asked senior advocate R Basant appearing for Asaram, that continuing Ayurvedic treatment is not a problem and it can direct the jail authorities to take care that Ayurvedic treatment is granted.

Advocate Basant said there is no treatment in jail, adding that "we are only asking for six weeks. Asaram's condition is bad. Kindly show humanity and concern for him."

The court however dismissed Asaram's plea.

Asaram had challenged in the top court the Rajasthan High Court's order wherein his petition seeking temporary suspension of sentences to pursue medical treatment was dismissed.

The Rajasthan government had earlier opposed the bail plea of Asaram stating that he wants to change the place of his custody under the guise of seeking medical treatment.

The State government had said that Asaram, who had earlier sought bail for allopathic treatment of his ailments, has now prayed to be treated at an Ayurveda centre, only because his earlier round of petitions were not successful.

In his plea, Asaram said he was an 83-84-year-old man whose medical condition was dire and required immediate holistic medical treatment. He had presented reports to the Court and submitted that the treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur was not sufficient as he had been given blood thinners, thereby making him bleed profusely.Earlier, the top court had sought the Rajasthan government's response on a plea of Asaram, facing varying jail terms including a life sentence in sexual assault cases, that he be permitted to undergo treatment at an Ayurvedic center near Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

The Bench had, however, orally observed that it was not inclined to grant interim bail by suspending his sentence for two months to enable him to get "holistic" treatment of his multiple ailments of a medical centre of his choice.

Asaram wanted to be treated at Prakash Deep Institute of Ayurved which is located between Hardwar and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand.

A Jodhpur court, on April 25, 2018, had sentenced Asaram to life in prison after finding him guilty of raping a teenage girl in his ashram in 2013. His accomplices Sharad and Shilpi were sentenced to 20 years in jail by the court in the same case for their roles.

In her complaint, the girl had said that Asaram had called her to his ashram in the Manai area near Jodhpur and raped her on the night of August 15, 2013.

He was also convicted in a 2002 rape case and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Asaram is also facing a rape case in Surat in Gujarat.

( With inputs from ANI )