Asaram gets interim bail from Rajasthan HC till March 31 in sexual assault case

The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail till March 31 to convicted religious leader Asumal Harpalani, better known as Asaram Bapu, who is serving life imprisonment for a 2013 case about him having sexually assaulted a minor, reported PTI.

The order came a week after the Supreme Court granted interim bail till March 31 to Asaram in a rape case.

After the Supreme Court order, Asaram’s lawyers moved a plea in the High Court demanding that his sentence be suspended.

On Tuesday, a division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vineet Kumar Mathur granted the religious leader interim bail, saying that the petition was similar to the one in the Supreme Court.

Asaram’s counsel Nishant Bora said that the conditions for interim bail are the same as those in the Supreme Court’s January 7 order, except for one.

“If Asaram wants to travel outside [Jodhpur], he will have to bear the expenses of the three constables who have been asked to accompany him,” the lawyer said, according to PTI.

The 86-year-old has been in custody since August 31, 2013, facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.

In January 2023, a Gandhinagar Sessions Court sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment for raping a 16-year-old…

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