An Indian court sentenced a controversial religious leader to 20 years in prison on Monday for raping two of his followers, authorities said.

A lawyer for the victims had said Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had been sentenced to 10 years in jail, but India's Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) later clarified he received two consecutive 10-year sentences.

"He has been sentenced for 10 plus 10, which is a total of 20 years of imprisonment. I have the judgement which details the sentence," said Abhishek Dayal, spokesman for the CBI, which prosecuted the case.