The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the bail application of self-styled godman, Asaram Bapu, who is serving jail term in a rape case. The court also ordered registration of a new FIR against him and others for filing fake documents in connection with his health.
Also read: Asaram's health is stable, no need of urgent bail plea: SC
The apex court also levied a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Asaram for filing a frivolous bail petition to seek regular bail.
Asaram and others are said to have forged a letter of Jodhpur Jail Superintendent on his health condition in the court.
The godman had moved the court for bail on medical grounds. The court observed that the plea was devoid of merit and was dismissed. The court also refused to modify its earlier order that had declined his interim bail.
He has so far filed seven bail applications and all of them have been rejected.
He was jailed in August 2013 in Jodhpur for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old school girl. The girl had accused him of assaulting her during a celebration in a village near his Jodhpur ashram.
In October, the apex court sought the response of the centre and five states on a plea that sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into alleged murder of children through black magic and attacks on ten witnesses in Asaram Bapu rape cases.
A child was also allegedly murdered in a black magic ritual by one Narayan Sai and the godman in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. Two children also mysteriously died at the Motera Ashram, Gujarat and two more children at Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. The petitioners have sought a court-monitored investigation by SIT or CBI into all these matters. They have also sought protection for witnesses and their families.
