At 85 years old, Asaram Bapu has spent a decade in detention. The Gujarat High Court has announced its decision to prioritize the hearing of his appeal against his conviction in a 2013 rape case over his request for a suspension of his sentence, scheduled for April 4. Justices AS Supehia and Vimal Vyas, constituting a division bench, made this ruling, considering his age and prolonged incarceration.
The court emphasized that a comparable amount of time would be necessary for either hearing the main appeal or the motion to suspend the sentence, hence the decision to proceed with the appeal on April 4. Additionally, the court aims to conclude the lengthy appeal hearing before the summer recess to facilitate a post-recess verdict.
Asaram Bapu was convicted by a Gujarati trial court in January 2023 for multiple rape charges involving female disciples at his Surat ashram in 2013. The charges include violations of various sections of the Indian Penal Code such as rape, unnatural sex, provoking modesty, wrongful confinement, criminal conspiracy, and evidence destruction. The survivor, according to the FIR filed in Ahmedabad, alleged repeated rapes between 2001 and 2006.
This isn’t Asaram’s first conviction related to sexual offenses. He is currently serving life sentences in two separate cases. Since 2018, he has been held in a Jodhpur penitentiary after being initially arrested in Indore in 2013.
In his plea challenging the conviction, Asaram contends that the prosecution’s case is fabricated and concocted. He alleges a conspiracy by dissatisfied individuals associated with his ashram. He also highlights discrepancies in witness testimonies and the delayed filing of the FIR.
Regarding the victim’s account, Asaram’s appeal questions the likelihood of “forceful sexual intercourse” due to his age at the time. He argues the improbability of the victim’s inability to resist or flee.
