Asaram faces fresh legal trouble after delayed return to Jodhpur jail following medical parole

Jaipur: Self-styled godman Asaram, who is serving a life sentence in a rape case involving a minor girl, has been booked by Jodhpur’s Ratanada police for failing to return to Central Jail within the stipulated time after his 20-day medical parole expired.

According to police, Asaram was required to surrender at Jodhpur Central Jail by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. However, he arrived in Jodhpur by air ambulance from Indore at around 10:40 p.m, several hours after the surrender deadline. The case was registered on October 27 under Section 58B of the Prisons Act, based on a complaint filed by jail guard Banwarilal.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Bhawani Singh has been assigned to investigate the matter. Asaram had been granted 20 days of medical parole by the Rajasthan High Court on October 6. His parole period ended on October 26, and he was directed to surrender at the prison by the following evening.

Asaram’s legal team had approached the Supreme Court seeking an extension of his parole. However, the apex court rejected the request and directed him to return to Jodhpur Central Jail by the prescribed deadline. Asaram was reportedly undergoing treatment at a hospital in Ujjain due to health concerns.

He was subsequently transported to Jodhpur by air ambulance late on Tuesday night. Since he arrived at the prison late at night, jail authorities did not admit him, and he was taken to a hospital in the Bhagat Ki Kothi area. He was expected to be brought back to jail on Wednesday.

Asaram was arrested in August 2013 in connection with the rape of a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram. On April 25, 2018, a special POCSO court in Jodhpur convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Over the following years, he pursued several legal proceedings seeking relief on medical grounds.

In October 2025, the Rajasthan High Court granted him six months of interim medical bail, followed by a similar order from the Gujarat High Court in November 2025. The Supreme Court subsequently declined to cancel the bail granted by the High Courts. On May 27, 2026, the Rajasthan High Court upheld Asaram’s life sentence.

Most recently, the court granted him 20 days of medical parole beginning October 6. The latest case relates specifically to his delayed arrival at the prison after the parole deadline. The matter is now under investigation by the Ratanada police, said officials.