The Gujarat High Court has rejected a plea by jailed self-styled godman Asaram, seeking the suspension of his sentence in a 2013 rape case, news agency PTI reported. The court cited a lack of "exceptional grounds" to warrant such a relief to Asaram, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gandhinagar court last year.

A division bench of Justices Ilesh Vora and Vimal Vyas, in their order passed on Thursday, denied the suspension of Asaram`s sentence and refused to grant him bail, stating that no compelling case for relief had been presented. The sessions court had convicted Asaram in January 2023 in a rape case filed by a woman who was living in his ashram near Gandhinagar.