BENNET CASTELINO.
▮ Identity sealed · POCSO §23
Activist, Independent activist
Mumbai, Maharashtra
“Bennet Castelino is a lawyer and activist who filed the successful public interest litigation (PIL) that ordered a CBI probe into the disappearance of witness Rahul Sachan. Castelino reported refusing a ₹50 crore bribe to drop his legal campaigns against the cult.”
Bennet Castelino is a Mumbai-born criminal lawyer and human rights activist who has practiced law in both India and New Zealand. With a career focused on administrative law and civil rights, Castelino has represented various whistleblowers and victims of institutional abuse. In 2015, following the disappearance of key prosecution witness Dr. Rahul Sachan, Castelino took up the case to demand accountability from law enforcement.
Castelino filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, pointing to the systematic attacks on Asaram's witnesses as evidence of a coordinated conspiracy to obstruct justice. He argued that the local police's investigation into Sachan's disappearance was marked by administrative neglect. In August 2016, the High Court accepted Castelino's petitions, ordering the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take over the probe.
Throughout his legal campaigns against the cult, Castelino faced severe pressure. According to investigative reports in *The Caravan*, Castelino was approached by individuals claiming connections to nationalist organizations who offered him a bribe of Rs 50 crore to withdraw his petitions and stop his legal advocacy. Castelino refused the offer, reporting the incident to the police and continuing his legal representation of Sachan's interest.
Castelino continues to practice law, focusing on human rights and legal aid for vulnerable victims of crime. His work in the Asaram case was critical in forcing federal agencies to investigate the disappearance of Rahul Sachan, preventing the case from being closed by local authorities. He remains an active member of the legal community, advocating for witness protection reforms in India.
How the UP Police Botched Probe of Missing Witness in Asaram Bapu Case - The Wire
Source attached to Rahul K. Sachan. Imported during people-corpus reference backfill.
The nightmarish struggle to bring Asaram to justice
In-depth investigative report on witness intimidation, attacks, and the struggle to prosecute Asaram Bapu.
Is the underlying deposition available in redacted form? Useful for cross-referencing with the 2025 appeal.
Thank you for keeping this on the record despite the intimidation history around the case.