Verdict on Asaram's bail plea reserved for Saturday

Additional District and Sessions judge Manoj Kumar Vyas on Friday reserved for Saturday an order on the bail plea of self-proclaimed godman Asaram in a case of alleged sexual assault on a minor.

The bail plea of Asaram, languishing in Jodhpur jail since September 2013, was taken up by BJP leader Subramanian Swami before the court.

Arguments on the matter continued for about an hour on Friday, after which the court reserved the verdict for June 20.

Swami was scheduled to visit Jodhpur on May 26. But the matter was adjourned six times due to his unavailability.

"I have done my best and hope that he will be granted bail," Swami said, adding that he would approach the high court in case of denial of bail.

He said that Asaram had been "falsely implicated" by anti-religious powers and the entire case was based on circumstantial evidence.

Asaram was arrested from his ashram at Indore in Madhya Pradesh and brought to Jodhpur on September 1, 2013. He is lodged in the Jodhpur Central Jail since September 2, 2013.

A 16-year-old girl had lodged a police complaint accusing Asaram of sexually assaulting her at his ashram near Jodhpur.

In her complaint, she alleged that Asaram's aides sent her to his Jodhpur ashram on the pretext that she was under the influence of an "evil spirit" and he could perform an exorcism.

Asaram's bail applications have been rejected by the Rajasthan high court and the Supreme Court earlier.