elf-styled godman Asaram, who is already serving a life sentence for sexually exploiting a minor student of his “gurukul,” has been granted bail by the Rajasthan High Court in a separate case. The case pertains to furnishing a forged Right to Information (RTI) reply in the Supreme Court in support of his bail plea.
Granting bail to Asaram, Justice Kuldeep Mathur of the High Court’s Jodhpur bench observed that no direct role was attributed to the petitioner in the creation of the forged RTI reply submitted before the apex court. The court also noted that the offences alleged to have been committed by him are triable by a magistrate.
The case was lodged against Asaram after one of his sympathisers, Ravirai Marwah, submitted the forged RTI reply pertaining to the self-styled godman’s health condition in the Supreme Court for the purpose of his bail in 2016. The document was allegedly obtained from a Jodhpur jail through an application filed under the RTI Act by one Ganesh Kumar and was provided to Marwah, who subsequently handed it to Asaram’s lawyer in the apex court.
After finding that the document was forged following an objection by the state government, the Supreme Court had directed the police to file a case against Asaram and Marwah despite the self-styled godman tendering an apology in the court. Asaram was arrested in the case from the Jodhpur jail on a production warrant, and a chargesheet was filed against the two.
Asaram’s counsel, Gokulesh Bohra, argued in the court that Asaram had already been in judicial custody in another criminal case for the last ten years and that he was not allowed to meet devotees and other visitors in the absence of jail authorities. The court also took into account that Marwah, Asaram’s co-accused, had already been granted bail and that the trial was likely to go on for long.
The decision to grant bail to Asaram has drawn criticism from various quarters. Women’s rights activists have expressed concern that Asaram’s release could endanger society, given his history of sexual exploitation of women. The Rajasthan government has said that it will examine the order and consider filing an appeal in the Supreme Court.
In conclusion, Asaram’s bail in the RTI case has come as a shock to many, given the severity of the allegations against him. It remains to be seen how the matter will unfold in the days to come.