Subramanian swamy asaram

Noted lawyer Subramanian Swamy today failed to appear before a local court here for the third time to argue for the bail application of imprisoned Asaram Bapu in connection with a case of sexual exploitation of a teenaged girl. The trial court now set June 16 as the new date for the hearing on the sixth bail application in any court by Asaram, who is lodged in Jodhpur jail for one-and-a-half year. Swamy, a BJP leader, had moved a bail application in the trial court on May 23 and the court had listed the matter for May 26. But Swamy did not appear in the court for arguments on his bail application on that day and the court then posted the matter for June 2, said P C Solanki, counsel for the victim girl. Swamy did not turn up on June 2 either, after which the court listed the matter for today. Asaram's counsel did not appear in the court today either for the "reason best known to him" and the court has posted the hearing for June 16, said Solanki. When asked about Swamy's absence, Asaram said, "He is a nice man and would definitely come. Nobody should question his integrity." This is the sixth bail application by Asaram in any court. Before this, five bail applications, two each in the trial court and the High Court and one in the Supreme Court have been rejected.

He assertively said that when many of the politicians are out of jail despite their conviction why Asaram shouldn't get a bail. Comparing Asaram's case with those of politicians like Lalu Prasad and Jayalalithaa, Swamy asked, "when they could be out of jail despite being convicted, why could Asaram not be out of jail". 72-year-old Asaram who is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail was arrested after a 16-year-old girl lodged a police complaint on August 20, 2013, accusing him of sexually assaulting her at his ashram there. Arrested in September last year, Asaram is being tried under the provision of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

Jodhpur: Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday held a meeting with Asaram Bapu in Jodhpur Central Jail and assured the self-styled godman that he would fight his case in the court. “Bail is a fundamental right of Asaram and he would soon file a bail application in the lower court,” Swamy said, adding that he would fight his case in the court. Comparing Asaram’s case with those of politicians like Lalu Prasad and Jayalalithaa, Swamy asked, “when they could be out of jail despite being convicted, why could Asaram not be out of jail”. Earlier, at the court, Asaram expressed hope regarding the meeting, saying, “Swamy would do something in my case.” For all the Latest

A special court in Jodhpur will deliver its verdict on Wednesday against Asaram greets his supporters at a court hearing in 2015.(Ramji Vyas/ HT file photo) Asaram was arrested August 31, 2013, on charges of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at his ashram near Jodhpur earlier that year and sent to the Jodhpur Central Jail. The girl, whose parents were long-time followers of Asaram, and her brother were students at a school attached to his ashram in Madhya Pradesh’s Chindwara. The girl fainted at the school one day in 2013 and the hostel warden told her parents that she should be sent to Asaram’s ashram to be exorcised as she was possessed by “evil spirits”. Read | The parents were told at Asaram’s ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur that he would need to be alone with their daughter for an hour to banish the “evil spirits”. She told her parents that she was sexually assaulted by Asaram during the period and they registered a police complaint in New Delhi. Case against Asaram The charges against Asaram include sexual assault, raping and illegally confining a minor, according to 1,300-page charge-sheet filed by the Rajasthan Police. The police also charged four others, including the hostel warden and three of Asaram’s aides, with trafficking for participating in the criminal conspiracy. Another rape complaint Asaram is also facing a rape case in Gujarat. Two Surat-based sisters, who lived in Asaram’s ashram in Gujarat between 1997 and 2006, lodged separate complaints a...