JAIPUR: In a major relief to self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, the Rajasthan High Court has granted him six-month interim bail on health grounds.
Asaram is serving life sentence in Jodhpur Central Jail for sexually assaulting a minor. He has been reportedly suffering from poor health for a long time.
The case was heard by a division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Sanjiv Prakash Sharma. Senior Supreme Court advocate Devdutt Kamat and advocate Yashpal Singh Rajpurohit appeared on behalf of Asaram.
They argued that his deteriorating health required continuous medical attention, which was not possible while in jail. Additional Advocate General (AAG) Deepak Chaudhary represented the Rajasthan government, while advocate P.C. Solanki appeared for the victim.
After hearing all parties, the Bench granted Asaram six months’ interim bail in the first such relief from the Rajasthan High Court.
It is worth noting that Asaram has been serving his sentence since April 2018. Earlier, on January 7, 2025, the Supreme Court had granted him interim bail in a separate Gujarat case on medical grounds.
Following the expiry of the bail, he surrendered on August 30.
Asaram then filed a petition in the Rajasthan High Court seeking an extension of his bail.
On August 27, a Division Bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur rejected his plea, citing a medical board report from Ahmedabad’s Government Hospital, which stated that his condition was stable and did not require hospitalisation.
The court also observed that Asaram had been visiting multiple hospitals in recent months without regular follow-up treatment.
Asaram has been convicted in two rape cases. The first case was registered in Jodhpur on August 21, 2013, following an FIR lodged at the city’s women’s police station for the rape of a minor.
He was arrested from his Indore ashram on August 31, 2013, and a 1,021-page charge sheet was filed on November 6, 2013. The Jodhpur Sessions Court sentenced him to life imprisonment on April 25, 2018.
In another case, filed in Ahmedabad in August 2013 by a woman from his Gandhinagar ashram, Asaram was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by the court on January 31, 2023.