AIIMS panel to examine Asaram health: SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the director of AIIMS to constitute a medical board to assess the condition of self-styled godman Asaram, who has sought interim bail on medical grounds.
The Rajasthan High Court on May 27 upheld the conviction and life sentence awarded to the octogenarian in a case of rape of a minor in 2013. A bench of justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale asked the medical board to submit its report within a week.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that just three months ago Asaram undertook journeys to Kashi Vishwanath and Ayodhya. “He got the bail on the ground that he was in a vegetative state. But now he is roaming around,” Mehta said. “We are not granting regular bail except if we are satisfied it is required on a medical ground. Let the report come,” the bench said. The counsel appearing for Asaram said the petitioner’s case may be referred to the director of AIIMS, who may constitute a team of doctors to conduct a thorough examination.
He said the doctors can then submit a report on whether he should be admitted as a patient.
The high court had upheld Asaram’s conviction in the case, but acquitted him of charges related to alleged gangrape and penetrative sexual assault on a child under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, the high court upheld his conviction under IPC Section 376(2)(F) pertaining to rape of the minor, thereby retaining the sentence of life imprisonment awarded by the trial court.
The high court had also upheld convictions under several other provisions, including Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 370(4) (trafficking), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman), 354(A) (sexual harassment) of the IPC, along with Sections 7/8 of the POCSO Act and Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Earlier, Asaram was convicted on April 25, 2018, for sexually assaulting a minor student at his ashram and was sentenced to life imprisonment under multiple provisions of the IPC, the POCSO Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act.