Jailed but released on interim medical bail to avail of medical treatment, the self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu of Gurgaon got a major setback as the Rajasthan High Court upheld the conviction for a minor rape case in 2013 on Wednesday.
Justice Arun Monga and Justice Yogendra Kumar Purohit of a division bench stated that Asaram’s appealed trial court hearing was of 2018, which he had to do with giving himself up to the authorities.
In his statement, P.C. Solanki, the victim’s lawyer, said the High Court confirmed the conviction and life imprisonment imposed on the man in the usual rape case, but found no evidence of a gang rape. The court also allowed appeals of co-accused Sharat Chand and co-accused Shilpi, who had moved the court for relief, in the same order.
The case had started in August 2013 when a minor girl alleged that Asaram sexually assaulted her at Manai Ashram in Jodhpur. After its complaint, an FIR was lodged at the women’s police station of Jodhpur on 21st August 2013.
Later, Asaram was apprehended from his Shaktidhama, Indore, on 31st August 2013. He was convicted on April 25, 2018, and sentenced to the rest of his life in jail by a special court in Jodhpur, after a protracted, extended trial.
Asaram challenged this conviction and went to the High Court. It was heard fully, and an argument was heard from everyone on April 20, 2026, and the court reserved its judgment afterwards.
Asaram was then granted health bail for six months by the court in October 2025, which meant he was allowed to receive treatment away from jail. The Supreme Court of India earlier had also issued a special command to the High Court to dispose of the appeal in three months.
A life sentence was confirmed by the High Court, leaving very few options for Asaram, and he is likely to turn himself in to the police as soon as they call him up, as directed by the court.