New
Delhi:
Self-styled godman Asaram's plea for interim bail to receive Ayurvedic
treatment was turned down by the Supreme Court today as it noted that what he
had been convicted for was “not an ordinary crime at all”.
The
self-styled godman, who is serving life imprisonment after he was convicted of
raping a 16-year-old devotee at his ashram, had sought interim bail for two
months on medical grounds to receive treatment in Uttarakhand.
“You
will get all ayurvedic treatment in jail itself,” the court said, turning down
his plea.
In
2018, a Jodhpur court sentenced the self-styled godman to life imprisonment
after he was found guilty of raping the 16-year-old at his ashram in 2013. He
was convicted under sections of the IPC, the Juvenile Justice Act and the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Two
of his co-accused got 20 years in jail each and two were acquitted. During the
trial in the Jodhpur case, nine witnesses who testified against Asaram were
attacked and three of them died.
Arguing
against his plea for bail in Supreme Court, the Rajasthan government said that
the self-styled godman wants to get his sentence suspended under the garb of
receiving treatment.
The
state argued that Asaram had made similar pleas in 2014 and 2016 and both
times, a committee of doctors appointed by the Supreme Court found that his
health condition was stable.
The
father of the rape survivor had also opposed the plea for interim bail,
expressing apprehensions that the relief to Asaram may put his family members
at risk.
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