The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim bail on medical grounds to preacher Asaram Bapu, who is undergoing life imprisonment following conviction in a 2013 rape case. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal granted the relief till March 31, 2025, following concerns expressed about the 86-year-old's health. This is the first time he is getting interim bail since his arrest more than a decade ago. The court directed that he shall not attempt to tamper with the evidence or meet his followers once released. A Gandhinagar sessions court had in January 2023 convicted Asaram in the 2013 rape case of a Surat-based woman. He subsequently approached the Gujarat High Court seeking suspension of the life sentence, but the HC dismissed it on August 29, 2024. Following this, he moved the SC which issued notice to the Gujarat government on November 22, 2024. Appearing for Asaram Bapu, Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat, with Advocates Rajesh Gulab Inamdar and Shashwat Anand, sought to highlight the merits of the case as well as his medical condition. They argued that the conviction was based solely on the testimony of the prosecutrix without corroborating evidence and pointed to inconsistencies in the prosecution's case. However, the Court made it clear that it did not intend to go into the merits and suspend sentence, and restricted the relief to only medical grounds. Kamat submitted that his advanced age and other ailments could lead to life-threatening situations and urged the court to grant interim bail for treatment outside prison. Appearing for the state of Gujarat, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the prayer and said adequate medical facilities were available in custody. The bench clarified that the relief was granted solely on humanitarian grounds.
