New Delhi- The Supreme Court granted temporary medical leave to controversial spiritual leader Asaram Bapu on Tuesday, though the 83-year-old will remain incarcerated due to a separate conviction. While his legal team secured interim bail until March 31 in connection with a Surat ashram assault case, Asaram continues to serve a life sentence for a different offense involving a minor, making his actual release unlikely.

The judgment, delivered by Justices Sundresh and Bindal, focused exclusively on health considerations rather than examining the case's merits, despite defense arguments regarding alleged inconsistencies in the prosecution's evidence. The Court established strict conditions for the bail period, explicitly prohibiting Asaram from interacting with his disciples or interfering with evidence. His legal representative, R.S. Saluja, noted this marked the first instance of Supreme Court-granted bail for his client and indicated plans to pursue relief in the Jodhpur High Court for the second conviction.

The spiritual leader's troubles began with his 2013 arrest in Indore, leading to a life sentence in 2018 for assaulting a minor. A subsequent conviction in January 2023 resulted in another life term for an incident involving a woman at his Gandhinagar ashram. Despite State opposition through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who emphasized the gravity of the convictions and availability of prison medical facilities, the Court granted temporary relief purely on humanitarian grounds, with provisions for medical reassessment as the bail period approaches its conclusion.