SHARATCHANDRA (ALIAS SHARAD).

▮ Identity sealed · POCSO §23

Warden, Chhindwara Gurukul (MP) · co-accused in Jodhpur POCSO case

Rajasthan

“Sharatchandra is the former director of Asaram Bapu's Chhindwara Gurukul who was convicted of criminal conspiracy in the 2013 Jodhpur rape case. After serving several years of his sentence, he was fully acquitted of all charges by the Rajasthan High Court in May 2026.”

Sharatchandra was the director of the Chhindwara Gurukul, a residential ashram school in Madhya Pradesh. In late August 2013, he was arrested by the Jodhpur Police and charged as a co-conspirator alongside warden Shilpi. The police alleged that Sharad collaborated in fabricating a spiritual crisis regarding a minor female student, claiming she was possessed by evil spirits, to justify her transfer to Asaram's Jodhpur ashram where she was sexually assaulted.

During the five-year trial in Jodhpur, the prosecution presented call records and witness statements to show that Sharad was in constant communication with Asaram's personal attendants and helped coordinate the travel arrangements for the victim's family. On April 25, 2018, the Special Jodhpur Court convicted Sharad under Section 120-B of the IPC and the POCSO Act, sentencing him to 20 years in prison. Sharad's defense argued that as the school director, he had no role in the personal travel choices of the student's parents and was wrongly implicated due to his employment.

Sharad was incarcerated in Jodhpur Central Jail following the trial court's verdict. His lawyers filed an appeal challenging the conviction, arguing that the trial court's findings were built on circumstantial evidence that did not prove a criminal conspiracy. Unlike Shilpi, Sharad remained in custody for a longer duration while his appeal was processed through the Rajasthan judicial system, facing severe social and professional ruin.

The legal battle concluded on May 27, 2026, when a division bench of the Rajasthan High Court delivered its judgment on the appeals. The High Court accepted Sharad's appeal and overturned his conviction, fully acquitting him and Shilpi of all charges. The bench ruled that the prosecution's evidence was insufficient to prove that the gurukul officials had participated in a conspiracy to facilitate the rape, ordering his immediate release from custody.