Jodhpur: Asaram withdraws plea for bail, suspension of sentence
(Sourced from PTI)
Jailed self-styled godman Asaram yesterday withdrew a plea for bail and suspension of sentence awarded to him for raping a girl in his Jodhpur ashram in 2013. The application was withdrawn after a division bench comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and Vineet Kumar Mathur told the defense counsel to proceed with arguments or "the court would pass an order accordingly." Here are the details.
"Seeing the stand of the court, his counsel decided to withdraw the application with a prayer of 'not press' and the court dismissed the petition," said Prosecution Counsel P C Solanki. "We have withdrawn the application for suspension of sentence and will proceed with the arguments on an appeal against the sentence," a defense counsel said. The appeal will be heard after four weeks.
Last month, Asaram had sought interim bail to attend to his ailing wife Laxmi Devi, but court rejected the plea. A Jodhpur court had convicted Asaram and two of his associates in a 2013 rape-case. He's currently serving a life-term sentence in the Jodhpur central-jail.
