Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct.20: The Gujarat High Court’s ruling awarding 14-day furlough to rape convict Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, was overturned by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The Gujarat government’s appeal against the high court’s June 24 ruling giving Sai vacation was upheld by a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna.
Furlough is not an absolute right, according to the Supreme Court, and it is dependent on a number of criteria.
According to the report, the jail superintendent has rejected Sai’s request for a furlough since a cellphone was discovered in his cell.
The Gujarat High Court’s order of a two-week vacation for Sai was suspended on August 12 by the Supreme Court. On the Gujarat government’s petition, the top court issued a notice to Sai, staying the high court’s single-judge ruling of June 24 until further directions.
According to the provision to Rule 3(2) of the Bombay Furlough and Parole Rules 1959, a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment may be freed on furlough every year after serving seven years of his sentence.
On June 24, 2021, a single-judge bench of the high court ordered Sai’s release on furlough for two weeks, but the division bench postponed it until August 13, and the state then appealed to the Supreme Court, disputing the June 24 judgement.
The state administration has argued that, under the regulations and even in a court decision, furlough is not an absolute right and is dependent on a variety of variables.
According to the report, Sai and his father were arrested on rape accusations and hold enormous control through money and muscle.
A Surat court sentenced Sai to life in jail on April 26, 2019, for rape, 377 (unnatural acts), 323 (assault), 506-2 (criminal intimidation), and 120-B (conspiracy) under Indian Penal Code sections 376, 377, 323 (assault), 506-2 (criminal intimidation), and 120-B (conspiracy).
After two Surat-based sisters accused Asaram and his son of sexual abuse, Asaram was arrested in Rajasthan in 2013 for allegedly raping a girl. The elder sister accused him of sexually assaulting her when she lived at Asaram’s ashram in Ahmedabad between 1997 and 2006. The younger sister accused the godman’s son of sexual assault when she stayed at Asaram’s ashram in the Jahangirpura region of Surat between 2002 and 2005.
Between 2002 and 2005, the victim was subjected to many sexual assaults and unnatural sex; however, the complaint against Sai was only filed in 2013.
In December 2013, Sai was apprehended at the Delhi-Haryana border.
The Surat police claimed to have discovered sophisticated schemes to bribe police officers, physicians, and even judicial officers to weaken the case against Sai while he was in custody.
