The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the Gujarat government on a plea filed by jailed self-styled godman Asaram seeking suspension of the life sentence imposed on him by a trial court in a 2013 rape case. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar told the counsel appearing for Asaram that it would examine the issue only if there are medical grounds. "We will issue notice, but we will consider only on medical conditions," the bench said while posting the matter for hearing on December 13. The Gujarat High Court on August 29 had rejected Asaram's plea for the suspension of life imprisonment in the case by a Gandhinagar court in 2023. Refusing to suspend the sentence and grant him bail, the high court had observed that no case for relief was made out. The sessions court in January 2023 convicted Asaram in the 2013 rape case, filed by a woman who was living in his ashram near Gandhinagar at the time of the crime. Asaram is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail in ...