Controversial self-styled godman and rapist Asaram is set to walk out of jail after the Rajasthan high court on Tuesday granted interim bail till March 31 to the convicted felon on medical grounds in a 2013 rape case, paving the way for him to step out of prison after 12 years.

The order came a week after the Supreme Court granted the 83-year-old bail on medical grounds in a separate rape case registered in Gujarat in 2013, observing that he suffered from various ailments and needed treatment.

“In order to maintain parity, we are inclined to grant interim bail to the applicant up to March 31, 2025, for his medical treatment on the same conditions imposed by the Supreme Court,” a high court bench of justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinit Kumar Mathur said in its order, considering that the nature of the plea was similar to the one filed in the top court.

In August 2013, a 16-year-old girl who was staying at Asaram’s Jodhpur ashram alleged that he raped her on the pretext of exorcising her from evil spirits. He was convicted by a trial court in April 2018 and sentenced to life in prison.

Then, in December 2013, two sisters in Surat alleged that Asaram and his son Narayan had raped them repeatedly.

A district court in Gandhinagar in Gujarat on January 31, 2023 convicted Asaram and his son of rape. It sentenced them to life imprisonment. It was in this case that the Supreme Court granted Asaram interim bail on January 7. His son remains in jail, serving a life sentence.

Soon after the top court’s order on January 7, Asaram’s counsels RS Saluja and Nishant Bora moved a suspension of sentence plea in the high court. During the hearing, Saluja and Bora argued that their 86-year-old client was suffering from severe age-related ailments and even suffered two heart attacks. They also highlighted that the apex court order acknowledged Asaram’s precarious health and the need for external medical treatment.

Granting interim relief, the high court bench reiterated the strict bail conditions imposed by the Supreme Court, including barring Asaram from meeting his followers in groups. Three police personnel will accompany Asaram to ensure compliance, but they will not interfere with his medical treatment, individual meetings, or lawful activities, the court ordered.

The high court further said that Asaram must bear the costs of travel, lodging, and boarding for the accompanying police personnel, in case he seeks treatment outside Jodhpur. The order reiterated the top court’s stand that the interim bail was granted solely on medical grounds, and it would not affect the merits of the criminal appeal pending before the Gujarat high court.

“We argued that the plea was similar in nature to that filed in the Supreme Court and the grounds stand valid in this case as well,” Asaram’s counsel Nishant Bora was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

He added: “If Asaram wants to travel outside (Jodhpur), he will have to bear the expenses of the three constables who have been asked to accompany him.”

On January 7, a top court bench of justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal had noted that Asaram “is in his last leg” and agreed to consider his request for temporary suspension of sentence purely on medical grounds without going into the merits of the allegations against him. “He is on his death bed. Whatever be the nature of the crime, when it comes to health of the convict, the burden rests on the state and the court,” the apex court bench had said.