Jailed godman Asaram's son withdraws plea from Gujarat HC for temporary bail to meet ailing father

Ahmedabad: Narayan Sai, son of jailed self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is also serving a life sentence in a rape case, on Tuesday withdrew his plea in the Gujarat High Court seeking a 20-day temporary bail to meet his ailing father who he said was "in the last lap of life".

Sai's lawyer, I H Syed, preferred to withdraw the plea after the division bench of Justices AS Supehia and Vimal Vyas was told that the godman was discharged from a hospital and was back in the Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan, where he is serving a life sentence in a rape case.

Sai had sought a 20-day temporary bail to meet Asaram, stating that he was "in the last lap of life and may not survive", Syed told the court.

The lawyer said his client will bear the expenses for a police escort to and from Jodhpur from Surat, where he is jailed, if and when he is allowed to meet his father.

His lawyer even produced a medical report showing that he had suffered from cardiac arrest in Jodhpur jail on Monday.

The bench referred to a recent order passed by the Rajasthan High Court, which observed that Asaram was not inclined to be treated at AIIMS Delhi and only wanted Ayurvedic treatment.

The court said it would first call for the opinion of a panel of doctors from AIIMS before deciding on the bail plea.

"We will arrange a meeting on Zoom if you want to convince him to take treatment. We have to first ascertain whether he is in the ICU, able to speak and interact. Only then will we allow Zoom meet," the high court said.

The court was then informed that Asaram was no longer in the hospital and was treated for his ailment in the jail itself.

"He went to the hospital, then went to jail...He suffered a heart attack and was being treated in the jail itself," the court was told.

If Asaram was not in the hospital, then there was no point in undertaking the exercise, the court said, following which the lawyer preferred to withdraw the plea.

A court in Surat sentenced Sai to life imprisonment in April 2019 in a rape case filed against him by a former woman disciple in 2013. Asaram is serving a life sentence at a jail in Jodhpur for raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.