SC to hear Asaram Bapu's plea of temporary suspension of sentence after summer vacation

The Supreme Court on Friday posted the hearing of a plea of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, seeking temporary suspension of sentence to pursue medical treatment at an Ayurveda Centre in Uttarakhand, till the reopening of the court after the summer vacation.

A Bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice MR Shah later posted the matter for hearing after summer vacation.

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

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

The State has 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.

Dr Manish Singhvi, the senior lawyer appearing for the Rajasthan government, submitted to the Apex Court today that how can the court will grant bail at this stage.

"How can he (Asaram) be shifted to Uttarakhand," Dr Sighvi told the Apex Court.

To this, Justice Shah, said, "he (Asaram) can apply for interim bail."

The father of the rape victim in the Asaram case has approached the Supreme Court and opposed his plea for bail.

The plea of victim's father said that Asaram is "highly influential, politically connected" and has a "force of millions of blind followers around the country."

Apprehending that his daughter and his family could be killed by Asaram's followers, the father in his plea stated that the godman has a "hired killer Kartik Haldar, who killed and attacked eyewitnesses" and confessed to the police that Asaram ordered the killings.

The victim's father has said that during the course of the trial, he and his family members were "threatened with dire consequences".

"Bapu is a habitual offender and is facing trial for similar serious offences of rape before the Sessions Court at Gandhinagar, Gujarat and a criminal case before a Metropolitan Magistrate at Jodhpur," the petition stated.

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.

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 )