The Gujarat high court on Tuesday rejected a petition for temporary bail filed by self-styled godman Asumal Harpalani, alias Asaram, who is serving a life sentence for the rape of a girl at his Gandhinagar ashram between 2001 and 2006.
Asaram, 85, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gandhinagar court in a 2013 rape case, had sought his release on temporary bail for 20 days, saying the Rajasthan high court last month granted him 20-day parole in another rape case. Senior lawyer Nirupam Nanavaty, appearing for Asaram, told a bench of justices Gita Gopi and LS Pirzada relied on the Rajasthan high court’s August 3 order granting 20 days’ parole on account of his age since he had spent over 13 years in jail. On August 6, the Supreme Court him access to a caregiver in prison, kept his suspension-of-sentence plea pending, and gave him liberty to approach it again if his condition worsened.
Asaram had also applied to the Gujarat government for parole, but his request was rejected. He then approached the high court seeking temporary bail. He argued that Asaram should get a similar short-term relief in Gujarat. The Gujarat government also argued that if parole was being relied upon as the basis for temporary bail, Asaram was required to disclose the specific grounds on which parole had been granted. In its decision, the bench noted recent Supreme Court orders on Asaram’s health after an AIIMS Jodhpur report found he did not need hospitalisation but round-the-clock trained caregivers.
The public prosecutor said that in absence of any ground raised for temporary bail and that wherein parole is not a right, the discretionary authority of the court ought not to be exercised to grant temporary bail. The bench also said it found no reason to consider the temporary bail plea at this stage, noting that the Supreme Court had already given Asaram liberty to approach it again if his health worsened.
