In January 2023a sessions court in Gandhinagar convicted Asaram Bapu under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in a 2013 rape casefor the repeated rape of a female disciple at a Surat Ashram.

An appeal against this court judgment is pending before the Gujarat High Court. Meanwhile, Asaram moved a plea in the High Court seeking his temporary release from jail.

In August this year, the Gujarat High Court refused to grant this ground for adjournment his life imprisonment. The Supreme Court reasoned that there was no exceptional ground to allow Asaram’s temporary release from prison while his appeal against the conviction is still pending.

This led to an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court.

According to pleas filed by lawyers Rajesh Inamdar and Shashwat Anand, Asaram’s conviction is riddled with inconsistencies and relies solely on uncorroborated testimony of the appellant.

According to Asaram, there is no medical or independent evidence to support the allegations and he has been falsely implicated to tarnish his reputation and oust him from his Ashram.