Gujarat High Court Extends Asaram's Bail Until July 7 Due to Pending Certification

The Gujarat High Court has extended Asaram Bapu's temporary bail until July 7 due to pending certification from the national legal services authority (NLSA). The next hearing is scheduled for July 2, five days before the bail expires.

Justice Ilesh J. Vora and Justice P.M. Raval granted the 10-day extension on Friday. Asaram, 83, is serving life imprisonment for raping a female disciple at his ashram near Gandhinagar. He was convicted in January 2023 for rape and sodomy. He has also been convicted in a Rajasthan case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) for molesting minors at his ashram in August 2013.

The Supreme Court granted Asaram interim bail on medical grounds until March 31, with conditions including restrictions on meeting followers in large numbers. The Gujarat High Court extended this bail by three months in March.

In January last year, the Supreme Court refused to suspend his sentence on health grounds but allowed him to appeal the conviction. Senior advocate Shalin Mehta represented Asaram, while the state was represented by senior advocate B.B. Naik and public prosecutor Hardik Dave.

The court has set the next hearing for July 2, five days before the bail expires. In a related development, Asaram's son Narayan Sai, also serving a life sentence for rape, was granted five days' bail to meet his father on humanitarian grounds.