The Supreme Court on Monday directed that the medical facilities presently being extended to self-styled godman Asaram shall continue, while granting him liberty to mention his interim bail plea if his health condition deteriorates.
The case arose out of his conviction in the 2013 Jodhpur rape case involving a minor girl under the Indian Penal Code, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act. Asaram is serving a life sentence. His appeal against conviction is pending.
During the hearing, counsel for the victim opposed the interim application, submitting that the petitioner had suppressed three crucial facts, including that an earlier application seeking interim relief had been rejected by the Supreme Court. It was also argued that, unlike the Gujarat case involving major victims, the present case concerns two minor victims and attracts the provisions of the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice Act. The Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Sheel Nagu observed:
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“We are not considering suspension of sentence. Subject to hearing him, we will not give him regular bail. If grave urgency is there, such as danger to life, that’s the only factor we will consider.”
The State informed the Bench that Asaram had been admitted to a hospital on June 2, 2026, where he continues to receive treatment, and submitted that no further directions were necessary.
Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the petitioner, requested issuance of notice on the interim application. The Court, however, ordered that the medical facilities extended to the petitioner shall continue and granted liberty to the petitioner to mention the matter if his medical condition deteriorates.
Asaram, who has been in custody since 2013, was convicted by a Jodhpur trial court in 2018 for the rape of a minor girl at his ashram and sentenced to life imprisonment. In a separate case from Gujarat involving two sisters, the Gujarat High Court recently extended the temporary medical bail granted to him until June 15, 2026, on health grounds.
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