Asaram surrendered at Jodhpur Central Jail after the Rajasthan High Court cancelled his interim bail. The court upheld his life sentence in the 2013 minor rape case and recorded strong observations on the survivor’s ordeal.
Self-styled godman Asaram surrendered before the authorities at the Jodhpur Central Jail on Thursday evening, a day after the Rajasthan High Court cancelled his interim bail while upholding his life sentence in the 2013 minor rape case.
News of his arrival had drawn a large crowd of supporters to the Jodhpur airport earlier in the day.
He greeted followers and offered blessings from inside his vehicle before proceeding to his ashram in Pal village.
After spending some time at the local ashram in Jodhpur, he visited AIIMS for a medical examination and later surrendered in the evening.
The Jodhpur bench of the high court on Wednesday dismissed Asaram’s appeal and revoked the interim bail, which was extended till July 7.
At the time of the verdict, Asaram, who has been out on bail since October, was staying in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
His counsel said that they are studying the order and would proceed accordingly on challenging the High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court.
The division bench of Justice Arun Monga and Justice Yogendra Kumar Purohit had delivered a detailed judgment in the sensational case, affirming the life imprisonment awarded by the trial court.
While delivering the order, the bench made strong observations on the impact of the crime on the survivor.
Referring to the survivor’s birth date, the court remarked that she was born on July 4, celebrated as Independence Day in the United States, and symbolised freedom, dignity and self-respect.
The bench observed that on the night of August 15, 2013, when a country was celebrating Independence Day, the girl’s freedom, dignity and innocence were taken away inside a hut in Jodhpur by “a man she regarded as God”.
Terming faith as a powerful force, the court said devotees quite often adhere to their religious gurus’ instructions without question.
“Devotees of religious gurus will often embrace, without question, the most superstitious pronouncements and irrational counsel, including tales of ghosts and the supernatural. As seems to have happened in the case in hand,” the court noted.
Before pronouncing the order, the court reportedly remarked that it had a “mixed bag” of good and bad news for the accused and asked which part he wished to hear first.
