The self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, on Thursday, sought medical bail for his life sentence in a rape case, but the Supreme Court rejected the request. The court, however, had granted the 86-year-old convict the opportunity to have a trained caretaker of his choice, within the prison, and had also given him a chance to come back to court once more in case of a bad turn in his health in jail.
An All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) report was submitted before a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale. There had been three health problems with Asaram, the report said, putting forward the crucial recommendation of daily medical checks, without recommending him to be admitted to hospital.
In a referral to the AIIMS findings, the bench gave the assurance to Asaram that he will be provided with continued assistance of a trained caretaker while he remains in prison. The court further granted him “restriction” to pursue the relief again in event of his illness “exacerbating” in future.
Asaram’s lawyer stated at the hearing that he had faced multiple serious illness like coronary artery disease, thalassemia and recurrent loss of blood, which his health was continually deteriorating.
The Solicitor General of the Rajasthan government, Tushar Mehta, while opposing the plea, told the court that Asaram had already obtained parole for 20 days from the Rajasthan High Court which had not been told in front of the Supreme Court. He also added that there was no recommendation of hospitalisation in the AIIMS report.
The Supreme Court pointed out the same about the omission relating to parole and noted that its decision was not based on the merits of the case. The bail application has been pending allowing the petitioner scope for asking for fresh bail if necessary.