Asaram rape case: Rajasthan HC orders examination by medical board on bail plea

The Rajasthan High Court has directed that a medical board be constituted for examining self-styled god-man Asaram who is in jail since August 2013 in a rape case after he sought interim bail on health grounds.

The counsel for 74-year-old Asaram, who has been denied bail on seven occasions in the past, submitted that the accused has been suffering from about a dozen ailments since long and that his condition has been deteriorating in absence of proper treatment. "We have also submitted reports from different hospitals on his health condition in support of our plea," the counsel, Neel Kamal Bohra, said.

After hearing the arguments, vacation judge Kailash Chandra Sharma in Jodhpur ordered setting up of a medical board comprising a neurologist, an orthopedist, a urologist, a physician and a radiation oncologist. Bohra said the report of the Board would be submitted in the court on 5 July, when the next hearing on the bail plea will be held.

Asaram's bail plea was rejected by the trial court in January. He was sent to jail in August, 2013 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old school girl.

Earlier, four bail petitions of Asaram were turned down by lower court. He had twice unsuccessfully approached the High Court and was also denied relief by the Supreme Court.

-PTI