Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Top Court Refuses To Suspend Asaram's Son Narayan Sai's Life Sentence
A man named Narayan Sai was found guilty of hurting a woman and a court sent him to jail for the rest of his life.
He asked India's highest court, the Supreme Court, to let him out of jail while he keeps fighting his case.
The Supreme Court said no, he has to stay in jail.
But the court told another court, the Gujarat High Court, to finish his appeal within three months.
The Gujarat High Court had earlier said Sai kept making excuses and delaying his own appeal since 2019.
Sai had already spent 11 years in jail.
Some people who helped him were also given 10 years in jail.
His father, Asaram, was also convicted in two other cases.
The courts said the crime was very serious, so Sai cannot get bail.
Judges want his appeal to be decided quickly and fairly.
The Supreme Court of India refused to suspend the life sentence of Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram, in a 2013 rape case.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale directed the Gujarat High Court to decide Sai's appeal against his conviction within three months.
Sai was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2019 by a Surat court in a rape case filed by a former woman devotee in 2013.
The Gujarat High Court had earlier dismissed his bail plea, citing the gravity of the offence and noting he had not cooperated with the appeal hearing since 2019.
Sai's aides Dharmishtha alias Ganga, Bhavna alias Jamuna and Pavan alias Hanuman were sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment; his father Asaram has been convicted in two separate rape cases.
- Who
- Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram, and a Supreme Court bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale.
- What
- The Supreme Court refused to suspend Sai's life sentence and asked the Gujarat High Court to decide his appeal within three months.
- When
- On a Friday; the article does not give the exact date.
- Where
- India, at the Supreme Court; the conviction and appeal arose from a case in Surat, Gujarat.
- Why
- Sai sought suspension of his sentence while appealing his rape conviction, but the courts found no grounds for relief given the gravity of the offence and his delay tactics.
- Accused
- Narayan Sai, son of self-styled godman Asaram
- Case
- Rape case filed in 2013 by a former woman devotee
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment, imposed by a Surat court in April 2019
- Conviction Sections
- IPC 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 323 (assault), 506-2 (criminal intimidation), 120-B (conspiracy)
- Latest Ruling
- Supreme Court refused suspension of sentence; Gujarat High Court asked to decide appeal within three months
- Jail Time Served
- 11 years
- Co-accused
- Dharmishtha alias Ganga, Bhavna alias Jamuna, Pavan alias Hanuman - 10 years' imprisonment each
- Bench
- Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale