HC restores special medical, support facilities for Asaram in Jodhpur jail

The Rajasthan High Court has ordered Jodhpur Central Jail to restore special medical and support facilities for 85-year-old convict Asaram, directing that arrangements allowing food from private sources continue. A single bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Purohit passed the order while disposing of a criminal writ petition filed on Asaram’s behalf, noting that a prisoner’s age and medical needs do not vanish because an appeal has been decided. The bench said facilities previously granted by the Supreme Court and the High Court must be maintained to protect his medical needs and human rights.

Asaram’s lawyers, R.S. Saluja and Yashpal Singh Rajpurohit, told the court the jail had withdrawn several accommodations despite no improvement in his health. Medical records placed before the court stated the 85-year-old suffers from multiple ailments, including severe heart disease, diabetes, kidney complications, osteoporosis, muscle weakness and other chronic conditions.

The court directed continuation of the existing outside-food arrangement and permitted provision of alkaline water subject to conditions in earlier orders. It also ordered that two assistants be allowed to remain in service but refused Asaram’s plea to choose those assistants personally, leaving appointments to jail authorities. The bench declined to permit a private ambulance on a permanent basis but instructed authorities to ensure an appropriate ambulance is available for emergencies. It further allowed private physician Sachit Bhola to visit Asaram inside the jail once every 15 days, and said all earlier medical permissions granted by courts shall continue.

The order follows a recent division-bench judgment of the Rajasthan High Court that upheld Asaram’s life sentence in the 2013 sexual assault case involving a minor at his Jodhpur ashram. That judgment affirmed the trial court’s conviction, cancelled Asaram’s interim bail and directed his immediate surrender. In the same ruling, the court acquitted co-accused Shilpi, a hostel warden, and Sharat Chandra, a gurukul director, for lack of evidence. The case stems from allegations in August 2013 that a minor student was sexually assaulted at Asaram’s Manai Ashram; a trial court convicted him in April 2018 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.