The Supreme Court on Thursday denied interim bail as
of now to self-styled godman Asaram, who is serving life sentence in a 2013
case of sexually assaulting a minor, but allowed him to engage a trained
caretaker of his choice for round-the-clock assistance.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale kept
the plea filed by Asaram, seeking interim bail on health grounds, pending while
granting him liberty to mention his case if his health deteriorates.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
submitted that Asaram has suppressed from the court that his counsel moved an
application for parole.
The counsel for Asaram said the parole was filed
much earlier and that it was not granted on health grounds.
The Rajasthan High Court had earlier granted 20-day
parole to Asaram, saying the state government failed to justify its decision to
reject his parole application.
The HC had granted relief to the 85-year-old Asaram,
lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail, taking note of the duration of his
incarceration and his conduct during earlier periods of interim release.
The top court was earlier informed that experts from
AIIMS have suggested that Asaram does not require hospitalisation but needs
round-the-clock medical assistance.
On July 21, the apex court had asked AIIMS to
constitute a medical board to assess Asaram's condition.
The Rajasthan High Court on May 27 upheld the
conviction and life sentence awarded to Asaram in a case of rape of a minor in
2013.
On June 30, the apex court sought response from the
Rajasthan government on Asaram's plea challenging the high court order.
The high court had upheld Asaram's conviction in the
case, but acquitted him of charges related to gangrape and penetrative sexual assault
on a child under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
However, the high court upheld his conviction under
IPC Section 376(2)(F) pertaining to rape of the minor, thereby retaining the
sentence of life imprisonment awarded by the trial court.
The high court had also upheld convictions under
several other provisions, including Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 370(4)
(trafficking), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a
woman), 354(A) (sexual harassment) of the IPC, along with Sections 7/8 of the
POCSO Act and Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Earlier, Asaram was convicted on April 25, 2018, for sexually
assaulting a minor student at his ashram and was sentenced to life imprisonment
under multiple provisions of the IPC, the POCSO Act, and the Juvenile Justice
Act.