A police verification of his wife’s condition, ordered only a day earlier, sealed the fate of Asaram’s plea for release on humanitarian grounds, with the Gujarat High Court finding no urgency once her doctors said she was stable and close to discharge.
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday, September 30, rejected an application by self-styled godman Asaram seeking 20 days’ temporary bail on humanitarian grounds to visit his wife, who is undergoing treatment in hospital, but permitted him to communicate with her through video conferencing [Ashumal @ Asharam v. State of Gujarat and Another].
A Division Bench of Justice Gita Gopi and Justice L.S. Pirzada passed the order after considering a police report on the wife’s health, which the Court had called for on Tuesday.
Police report and the rival submissions
The Assistant Commissioner of Police, SIT/Mahila Crime Cell, placed on record a report along with a communication from the hospital and the statements of the two doctors treating Asaram’s wife.
Counsel for Asaram submitted that he is 86 years old and his wife 83, and that he was worried about her health. The Public Prosecutor opposed the plea, pointing to the doctors’ statements that she had responded to treatment, was stable and was expected to be discharged within two to three days. He added that there was no urgency, since she was being treated at a multispeciality hospital and was being looked after by relatives and her personal doctor.
No reason to grant release
The Court noted that the police report also recorded that she had responded well to treatment and that both doctors expected her discharge within two to three days. Declining the plea, it held:
“…we do not find any reason to allow the application of applicant who is presently in jail in Rajasthan.”
The Court, however, allowed Asaram to apply to the Jail Superintendent for permission to speak to his wife through video conferencing.
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Background of the case
The application was moved in Asaram’s pending appeal against a Sessions Court judgment convicting him of rape and sentencing him to life imprisonment in a 2013 case registered in Gujarat. Earlier this month, the High Court had rejected another application for temporary bail filed by him.
Last month, the Supreme Court permitted Asaram to engage a trained caregiver of his choice round the clock, while keeping his application for suspension of sentence pending and granting him liberty to approach it again if his health deteriorates. Separately, in August, the Rajasthan High Court granted him 20 days’ parole, having regard to his age and the more than 13 years he has spent in custody, after it had upheld his conviction for raping a minor in a separate case.
Case Title: Ashumal @ Asharam v. State of Gujarat and Another
Case Number: Criminal Misc. Application No. 3 of 2026 in Criminal Appeal No. 607 of 2023
Bench: Justice Gita Gopi and Justice L.S. Pirzada, Gujarat High Court
Date of Order: September 30, 2026