New Delhi:The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, declined to entertain a plea by self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, serving a life term in a rape case, for suspension of sentence.
Asaram has been in custody since September 2013 after he was arrested in Indore. Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, representing Asaram, submitted before a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti that his client has been in jail for around 10 years and his ill health was not considered by the High Court.
The bench asked Asaram’s counsel to prepare for arguing before the High Court against the life sentence awarded to him in April 2018 by the Jodhpur trial court. The bench said it is inclined to dismiss his appeal filed against the Rajasthan High Court order of July 7, 2022.
The bench said if Asaram’s regular appeal against the conviction and sentence is not taken up for hearing expeditiously, then he will be at liberty to file a fresh application for suspension of sentence before the HC.
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Kamat urged the court not to dismiss the appeal against the High Court order and added that he would withdraw it. The top court allowed the counsel to withdraw the plea.
In July 2022, the High Court noted that Asaram made a third attempt to seek suspension of sentence while dismissing his plea. The HC noted that Asaram continues to be in custody in a sexual assault case registered in Gujarat. In August 2021, the top court junked Asaram’s plea for suspension of his sentence for a few months regarding an ayurvedic treatment.
