AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court on Friday allowed self-styled preacher Asaram’s son Narayan Sai, who is serving life term for rape in Surat’s Lajpore jail, to meet his father in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur jail for four hours.
A bench of justices Ilesh Vora and SV Pinto allowed Narayan Sai and Asaram to meet on humanitarian grounds after rejecting Sai’s request to be released on bail for 30 days. Both of them are serving life term in sexual assault cases.
According to the court order, Sai will be transported to and from Jodhpur by air, accompanied by six police officials, including an assistant commissioner of police-rank officer. Sai will foot the bill for the travel and must deposit ₹5 lakh with the government treasury at Sachin police station in Surat to facilitate the arrangement.
The high court also ordered that Sai’s travel schedule remain confidential in view of concerns of potential law and order issues. The trip, however, would have to be organised within seven days of Sai making the payment.
Sai, who had initially sought bail, had pointed to Asaram’s recent hospitalisation and the fact that the two had not met in 11 years. When the bench indicated its reluctance, Sai’s lawyers urged the court to at least permit a visit.
{{/usCountry}}Sai, who had initially sought bail, had pointed to Asaram’s recent hospitalisation and the fact that the two had not met in 11 years. When the bench indicated its reluctance, Sai’s lawyers urged the court to at least permit a visit.
{{/usCountry}}The high court stipulated that no other family members would be allowed to attend the meeting, and Sai must remain within the jail premises throughout, with no exceptions even for medical emergencies. The court also ordered that he should be brought back to Lajpore Jail immediately after the meeting.
Narayan Sai has been lodged in Lajpore Jail since 2013, after two sisters from Surat filed separate complaints against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai for incidents that took place between 2001 and 2006, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement, among others.
In 2018, Asaram was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Rajasthan for raping a minor at his ashram in Jodhpur. Sai was convicted the following year in April 2019 for rape, assault, unnatural offences and criminal conspiracy and is serving a life term.
In January last year, a Gandhinagar sessions court also sentenced Asaram to life imprisonment in a 2013 rape case filed by a woman disciple.