The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked a Gujarat trial court to expedite recording of evidence of prosecution witnesses in a sexual assault case lodged by two Surat based sisters against self-styled godman Asaram.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and S.K. Kaul asked the trial court to record the testimonies of 46 remaining prosecution witnesses, including the alleged rape victims.
“The trial court is directed to expedite the examination of witnesses as expeditiously as may be practically possible,” the Bench said.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said this was the same case in which two prosecution witnesses were killed. Twenty-nine prosecution witnesses were examined and the recording of evidence of 46 others was pending.
“Don’t linger it. This is what we want to say [to] you [Gujarat]. Expedite the recording of evidence,” the Bench said while fixing the plea filed by Asaram for further hearing in July third week.
Earlier, the top court had refused to grant bail to Asaram on various grounds, including his poor health in two separate sexual assault cases lodged in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The apex court, while dismissing his bail plea on January 30, observed that Asaram had placed a “fictitious document” to persuade the court to grant him bail and ordered the registration of an FIR against those responsible for preparing and filing the alleged fake papers.
The Gujarat government had told the court that the rape case registered against Asaram would very likely proceed in an expeditious manner and the trial would be completed within six months.
The two Surat sisters had lodged separate complaints against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement, among other charges.
The elder sister, in her complaint against Asaram, had accused him of repeated sexual assaults between 2001 and 2006 when she was staying at his ashram near Ahmedabad.
In the case in Rajasthan, a teenager had accused him of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur.
The girl, who belonged to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was a student living in the ashram.
The apex court had noted that trial in the matter was unnecessarily prolonged and the prosecution witnesses were being attacked, which led to the death of two witnesses.
It had said Asaram’s present medical condition is “not so serious” which requires him to be transferred to another jail or another hospital as, according to the Rajasthan government, he is being treated in a hospital in Jodhpur which has all the facilities to treat him for the ailment.
Asaram had sought bail on medical grounds, saying that as per medical reports, he was suffering from a prostate problem and needed medical treatment for the ailment.
His counsel had said that he was being treated at the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jodhpur since 2014 and high standard of treatment facilities are available there.
The apex court, on November 18 last, sought the response of the Centre and five States on a plea seeking a CBI probe into the alleged murder of children and attacks on 10 witnesses in the Asaram rape cases.
Asaram was arrested by the Jodhpur Police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then.
