Ashumal Harpalani alias Asaram
Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court on Wednesday denied temporary bail to Ashumal Harpalani alias Asaram (86), who wanted to meet his ailing wife hospitalised two days ago.
The court said, “When the patient has responded well to the treatment and both the doctors have opined that she would be discharged within the next two to three days, we do not find any reason to allow the application of the petitioner, who is presently in Jodhpur Jail, Rajasthan.” HC called for reports from the doctors and police, and the treating doctors stated, “Since admission, she has responded well to treatment and is currently haemodynamically stable. Provided clinical conditions allow, she will be discharged to home in the next two or three days. Public prosecutor Hardik Dave opposed the application, citing Laxmi’s stable condition.
Asaram had applied for temporary bail after his wife, Laxmi, was admitted to a Naroda hospital in critical condition on Monday.
HC refused to release him for 20 days, as requested by Asaram, citing reports by the doctors that his wife’s condition was improving.
However, the court said that if Asaram wants to communicate with his wife, he can make a request to the jail superintendent at Jodhpur prison for permission to talk through video conferencing. Asaram is lodged in Jodhpur jail, serving life imprisonment in a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. He has also been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gandhinagar court in a rape case, and his appeal is pending before HC.