The Rajasthan High Court has denied interim bail for Asaram

The Rajasthan High Court refused to grant interim bail to Asaram, who is currently serving a life sentence in a rape case. The court instructed his lawyer to file an affidavit addressing the alleged violation of bail conditions at the next hearing scheduled for April 7.

During the hearing, which lasted around 30 minutes, the government advocate argued against granting interim bail, claiming Asaram had violated the Supreme Court's conditions by preaching while on bail. Asaram’s counsel, however, denied these allegations.

The court has also requested details about Asaram’s medical treatment received during his previous interim bail and questioned the necessity for such care moving forward.

Asaram returned to Jodhpur Central Jail on April 1 at 1:30 PM after his bail period expired, only to be transferred to a private hospital later that night. No official explanation has been provided for his hospitalization.

Previously, Asaram was granted three months of interim bail by the Gujarat High Court. Despite this, he remains in custody as the Rajasthan High Court has not provided similar relief.

On Tuesday, after the reopening of the Rajasthan High Court, Asaram's lawyer, Nishant Bora, appealed for an urgent hearing of his bail application, leading to Wednesday’s court session.

The court also requested affidavits from both Asaram and the victim concerning his bail application. The victim's lawyer opposed further bail, citing past violations of court conditions.

The case was heard by a division bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur. They specifically questioned whether Asaram had breached the Supreme Court’s conditions by delivering sermons. Asaram’s legal team was directed to provide an affidavit to address these accusations.

The Supreme Court initially granted interim bail on January 14, extended by the Jodhpur High Court until March 31.

Although the Gujarat High Court extended interim bail for three months concerning a case in Surat, Asaram remains incarcerated due to the pending Rajasthan case.

Asaram was convicted in two major sexual assault cases: the Jodhpur case in 2013, for raping a minor girl, and the more recent Gujarat case in Gandhinagar for repeated sexual assault, each resulting in life imprisonment.