Overview
- The High Court’s Division Bench upheld Asumal Harpalani (Asaram Bapu)’s life sentence for raping a minor, relying on the victim’s testimony as sufficient under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) framework; the court described that testimony as “quiet, devastating, irrefutable.”
- The court set aside convictions for gang rape, aggravated penetrative assault and criminal conspiracy where evidence did not prove participation by others, and acquitted two co-accused who had been convicted at trial.
- The bench cancelled Asaram’s interim medical bail, ordered forfeiture of his bail bonds and issued a warrant that led to his surrender at Jodhpur Central Jail after he travelled to Jodhpur and underwent a medical check.
- The High Court also upheld multiple other convictions against Asaram, including wrongful confinement, trafficking, criminal intimidation, sexual harassment and offences under the Juvenile Justice Act, keeping the trial court’s life sentence intact.
- With the judgment delivered on May 27 and surrender recorded on May 28, Asaram — who is already serving a separate life term from a 2023 Gandhinagar conviction — faces custody while his lawyers review the order for possible Supreme Court challenge and the ruling reinforces judicial scrutiny of abuses by religious authorities.