File Photo: Self-Styled Godman Asaram Bapu
While a court in Gandhinagar has been awaiting framing of charges in the alleged rape case involving self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, the Rajasthan High Court in Jodhpur has refused to allow him to go to Gandhinagar.
After the Additional District and Sessions court had rejected the application by the Jodhpur jail authority seeking permission to send him to Gandhinagar for charge framing, Asaram had moved High Court on June 26.
Additional Advocate General Rajesh Panwar raised the question about the locus standi of the petition moved by Asaram Bapu in this regard.
"The petition has been moved by Asaram Bapu, who has no locus standi to move such a petition. Only the concerned court could come forward with this plea to allow Asaram to appear there and that too through production warrant," Mr Panwar argued.
He also contended that the trial of the case has been taking place on a day-to-day basis in Jodhpur following the directions of the Rajasthan High Court and allowing him to go to Gandhinagar would hamper the trial of the case in Jodhpur's case.
He also sought time from the court to file a detailed reply.
Hearing these arguments, justice GK Vyas dismissed the petition moved by Asaram Bapu with a plea to allow him to appear in the Additional District court of Gandhinagar.
It may be recalled that a case of alleged rape is also pending in Gandhinagar court after a woman complained against him in October 2013.
The charge sheet in the case has been filed by the police in the Gandhinagar court in January 2014 but charges are yet to be framed.
The trial in Jodhpur court, however, has reached near completion with only two prosecution witnesses left to depose before the court, which include an ex-attendant of Asaram, Sudha Pathak and the investigation officer of the case, the then ACP (Jodhpur-West) Chanchal Mishra.
According to the victims counsel, "out of the total 58 prosecution witnesses of the case, 41 have already been examined. Of the rest, 14 have been struck down and one has died," he said.