The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday granted partial relief to self-styled spiritual leader Asaram Bapu in the 2013 sexual assault case involving a minor girl, setting aside his conviction under Section 376D of the Indian Penal Code relating to gang rape and certain provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Division Bench of Justice Arun Monga and Justice Yogendra Kumar Purohit, however, maintained Asaram’s conviction for the offence of rape under Section 376 IPC and affirmed the sentence of imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life. Following the judgment, Asaram was directed to surrender before the Jodhpur Central Jail authorities.
The Court passed the order on appeals filed by Asaram and the co-accused challenging the 2018 judgment of the Special POCSO Court in Jodhpur. Co-accused Sharad and Shilpi were acquitted of all charges.
The Bench had reserved judgment on April 20 after the conclusion of final arguments. While delivering the verdict today, the Court observed that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges relating to gang rape and certain aggravated offences under the POCSO Act beyond reasonable doubt on the basis of evidence available on record.
At the same time, the Court held that there was sufficient material and credible evidence to sustain conviction for the offence of rape. The Bench found that the core allegations made by the prosecutrix remained reliable and could not be discarded merely because some of the additional charges were not fully proved.
The case dates back to August 2013, when a minor girl accused Asaram of sexually assaulting her at his ashram under the pretext of spiritual treatment and religious guidance. After registration of the FIR, the police conducted investigation and relied upon medical evidence, witness testimonies and other circumstantial material while filing the charge sheet.
On April 25, 2018, the Special POCSO Court in Jodhpur had convicted Asaram and sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life after holding him guilty of sexually assaulting the minor victim. In the same case, co-accused Shiva and Shilpi had also been awarded 20 years’ imprisonment by the trial court.
Challenging the conviction and sentence, the accused had approached the High Court in criminal appeals. While partly allowing the appeals, the High Court reiterated the settled criminal law principle that prosecution was required to prove charges beyond reasonable doubt. The Court held that the evidence on record was insufficient to sustain conviction under the gang rape provision and certain sections of the POCSO Act, entitling the accused to benefit of doubt on those counts.
However, the Court concluded that the evidence was adequate to uphold the conviction for rape under Section 376 IPC and therefore declined to interfere with the sentence of life imprisonment imposed upon Asaram.
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