New Delhi:<\/strong> The Supreme Court will hear Asaram\u2019s appeal against his conviction and life imprisonment in the 2013 minor rape case registered in Rajasthan in November, after he completes his 20-day parole and surrenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran said on October 14 that further proceedings in the appeal would take place after Asaram\u2019s parole period ends on October 27, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Supreme Court also directed the trial court to produce the records of the case, including both digital and physical records. Copies of the records are to be provided to Asaram, the Rajasthan government and the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaram was convicted in 2013 in a case involving the rape of a minor at his ashram in Jodhpur and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Rajasthan High Court subsequently upheld his conviction and sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has challenged the High Court\u2019s decision before the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the hearing, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Asaram, argued that he could not have been convicted under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justice J.B. Pardiwala orally observed that the Court would examine whether the alleged legal defect pointed out by the defence could affect the entire conviction. The legal questions raised in the appeal will be considered during the upcoming hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the October 14 hearing, the Supreme Court directed the trial court to provide the complete case records in both digital and physical formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Court further directed that copies of these records be made available to Asaram, the State government and the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The records will be relevant to the Supreme Court\u2019s examination of the appeal challenging the conviction and life sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the hearing, Siddharth Dave claimed that Asaram had suffered a heart attack the previous night and was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The claim was made by Asaram\u2019s counsel during the proceedings. However, the reported Supreme Court order did not grant any separate relief on this basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The victim\u2019s counsel referred to earlier proceedings in which Asaram had sought interim bail on medical grounds. The Supreme Court had previously called for a medical report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an earlier order, the Court had indicated that Asaram could approach it again if his health deteriorated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asaram is currently out of custody on 20 days of parole granted by the Rajasthan High Court. His parole period is scheduled to end on October 27, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Supreme Court clarified that further proceedings in his appeal would take place after the parole period ends and he surrenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The appeal challenging his conviction and life sentence is expected to be listed in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Supreme Court also heard a separate petition filed by Asaram challenging the Gujarat High Court\u2019s refusal to grant him temporary bail to meet his ailing wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, his counsel withdrew the petition during the hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The matter relates to a separate rape case registered in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. In 2023, a sessions court in Gandhinagar sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment for raping a female disciple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The allegations in that case concerned repeated sexual assaults at an ashram in Ahmedabad between 2001 and 2006. Asaram\u2019s appeal against that conviction is pending before the Gujarat High Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Rajasthan and Gujarat governments, referred to Asaram\u2019s convictions in both states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He submitted that Asaram had earlier sought relief on medical grounds before the Rajasthan High Court, which had rejected his application. He subsequently approached the Supreme Court and later obtained 20 days of parole from the Rajasthan High Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mehta also referred to the separate Gujarat case, stating that Asaram could not be released in that matter because of his conviction. He further told the Court that three key prosecution witnesses had been murdered during the trial in the Gujarat case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Supreme Court has indicated that Asaram\u2019s appeal against his Rajasthan conviction and life sentence will be taken up in November, after he completes his parole and surrenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, his conviction and life sentence remain in force. The Supreme Court will examine the legal grounds raised in his appeal at the next stage of proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Asaram\u2019s 20-Day Parole Ends on October 27; Supreme Court Directs Trial Court to Produce Case Records Ahead of Hearing New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear Asaram\u2019s appeal against his conviction and life imprisonment in the 2013 minor rape case registered in Rajasthan in November, after he completes his 20-day parole and surrenders. A bench … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wppp_is_locked":false,"_wppp_selected_plans":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,29],"tags":[3738,3742,3735,3734,1545,3737,1543,3741,3743,3740,3739,3198,32,55,3736],"class_list":["post-9900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supreme-court","category-top-stories","tag-asaram","tag-asaram-appeal","tag-asaram-rape-case","tag-conviction-appeal","tag-indian-penal-code","tag-jodhpur-rape-case","tag-life-imprisonment","tag-minor-rape-case","tag-november-hearing","tag-parole-ends-october-27","tag-rajasthan-rape-case","tag-section-three-hundred-seventy-six-ipc","tag-supreme-court","tag-supreme-court-of-india","tag-twenty-day-parole"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9902,"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9900\/revisions\/9902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawsandlegals.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Asaram Challenges Conviction and Life Sentence in Rajasthan Case<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Supreme Court Seeks Trial Court Records<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Asaram\u2019s Counsel Claims He Suffered Heart Attack<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Asaram Currently Out on 20-Day Parole<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Asaram Withdraws Petition Seeking Bail to Meet Ailing Wife<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Rajasthan and Gujarat Governments Refer to Both Convictions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Appeal to Be Listed After Surrender<\/h4>\n\n\n\n