The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed as withdrawn a plea filed by self-styled godman Asaram challenging the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to grant him temporary bail to visit his ailing wife in connection with the 2013 Gandhinagar rape case.
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran permitted the withdrawal after being informed that Asaram is currently out on 20-day parole granted by the Rajasthan High Court in a separate rape case involving a minor.
The Bench also deferred hearing his challenge to the Rajasthan High Court judgment upholding his conviction and life sentence in the 2013 Jodhpur minor rape case until November, after the expiry of his parole.
Asaram’s parole is scheduled to end on October 27. The Court directed that the matter be taken up after he surrenders and also ordered the Registry to summon the trial court records, both in physical and digital form. Copies are to be provided to the petitioner, the State and the victim.
Appearing for Asaram, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave submitted that notice had already been issued in the appeal challenging his conviction in the Rajasthan case.
Counsel appearing for the victim informed the Court that a coordinate Bench had earlier sought a medical report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in connection with Asaram’s plea for interim bail on medical grounds. According to the submission, the report referred to his longstanding medical conditions and the Court had permitted him to seek relief if his health deteriorated.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the States of Rajasthan and Gujarat, opposed the plea and outlined the sequence of proceedings before the two High Courts.
He submitted that Asaram had initially sought parole from the Rajasthan High Court on medical grounds, but that request was rejected. He subsequently obtained a 20-day parole order from the Rajasthan High Court on another application. However, his conviction in the separate Gandhinagar rape case prevented his release, prompting him to approach the Gujarat High Court for temporary bail to visit his wife.
The Gujarat High Court rejected that request, following which Asaram approached the Supreme Court.
Mehta also referred to the Rajasthan High Court’s direction requiring the State authorities to comply with its parole order, notwithstanding the rejection of the separate temporary bail application by the Gujarat High Court.
During the hearing, the Bench indicated that it would examine the legal questions raised in Asaram’s challenge to his conviction after he surrendered upon completion of parole.
“Unless you are able to convince us that because of the lapse the entire conviction would be said to have vitiated, we will look into it,” Justice Pardiwala orally observed.
Dave further argued that Asaram could not have been convicted under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code after having been acquitted of certain other charges. He also informed the Court that Asaram had allegedly suffered a heart attack the previous night and was admitted to an intensive care unit.
In response, Mehta referred to the fact that three key witnesses had been murdered during the trial.
The Supreme Court thereafter deferred the appeal challenging the Rajasthan High Court judgment until November and directed the Registry to obtain the trial court records.
Asaram was convicted in 2018 by a Jodhpur trial court and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl at his ashram in 2013. The Rajasthan High Court upheld his conviction and sentence in May 2026.
Separately, a Gandhinagar Sessions Court sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2023 for repeatedly raping a disciple at his Ahmedabad-based ashram between 2001 and 2006. His appeal in that case remains pending before the Gujarat High Court.
The temporary bail plea concerning his wife arose from the latter case, while the Supreme Court’s proposed November hearing concerns his challenge to the Rajasthan High Court judgment in the Jodhpur case.
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