SC refuses interim bail to “unwell” Asaram [Read Order]

AIIMS medical board to ascertain his medical condition before bench takes a decision on his plea.

The Supreme Court today refused interim bail to self-styed godman Asaram Bapu, who is jailed for the past three years after facing rape charges, for undergoing treatment for “several chronic ailments”.

His lawyers told a bench of justice Madan B Lokur and Justice R K Agrawal that “as per the doctors, he needs to go to Kerala where he needs to undergo a special treatment- Panchakarma (Ayurvedic purification and detoxification treatment)”.

This was his eleventh attempt for bail in the past three years including those filed in the Rajasthan High Court.

REPORT FROM AIIMS

But he suffered a setback as the court denied him interim bail and asked AIIMS to set up a medical board to ascertain his health condition before taking up his regular bail plea.

The bench said a three-member panel of doctors from All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will assess the condition of 75-year -old Asaram and submit its report in 10 days.

“We are not inclined to grant relief to petitioner.... We direct the director of AIIMS to constitute a panel of three doctors to examine the health condition of petitioner (Asaram) and submit report in ten days”, the bench said.

Asaram was arrested by Jodhpur Police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran appearing for Asaram, said the medical board constituted on the direction of the High Court has opined that his health condition was deteriorating and sought interim bail for him for a period of one or two months.

Asaram’s earlier attempts to get bail was unsuccessful with the SC dismissing his plea thrice and asking him to wait till all crucial witnesses in the case were examined.

He is being tried in a Jodhpur court on charges of rape, criminal conspiracy and other offences in connection with alleged sexual exploitation of a minor girl in his ashram.

The 79-year-old godman is also facing charges of rape in another case in Surat in Gujarat and he has been in jail since September 2013.  He had knocked SC doors after the Rajasthan HC dismissed his bail plea saying since the trial of the case has reached its fag end, it was not appropriate to grant the bail.

Read the order here.