Prisoner Does Not Cease To Be A Human Being: Rajasthan High Court Directs To Provide Bed & Alkaline Water For Asaram Bapu, Rejects Prayer For “Special Arrangements”
While affirming that the State must safeguard an aging inmate's health under Article 21, the Court also turned down pleas for temperature-controlled rooms and private attendants.
The Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur Bench categorically observing that “prisoner does not cease to be a human being”, has directed the Jodhpur Central Jail administration to immediately provide a bed and bedding to the 85-year-old, self-styled godman, Asaram Bapu on strict medical grounds and permitted him to receive privately sourced alkaline drinking water alongside his daily food supply under existing security checks.
Conversely, the Court explicitly declined his prayers to bring in private attendants of his own choice or install specialized temperature-control systems in his ward. It further ordered that the existing arrangement of two willing inmate attendants would suffice, and restricted the visits of his personal physician, Dr. Sachit Bhola, to once every fortnight, unless a critical medical emergency arises.
Asharam alias Ashumal, widely known as Asaram Bapu, is currently undergoing life imprisonment at the Central Jail in Jodhpur following his conviction on April 25, 2018, by a Special POCSO Court for sexually assaulting a minor girl. After a Division Bench partly upheld his conviction on May 27, 2026, ordering him to remain in prison for the remainder of his natural life, jail authorities withdrew several relief measures extended to him during his appeal, prompting him to approach the High Court seeking a wide array of private amenities citing advanced age and multiple severe ailments.
Justice Sanjeet Purohit observed, “…while lawful imprisonment necessarily curtails certain liberties which are incompatible with confinement, a prisoner does not cease to be a human being”.
“…this Court finds that the prayer for bed cannot be viewed as one founded upon personal comfort, but as reasonable accommodation flowing from petitioner's medical condition. Denial of the same merely on the ground of parity with other inmates, would amount to overlooking petitioner's established and peculiar medical needs”, the Bench observed.
Advocate R.S. Saluja appeared for the petitioner and Deepak Choudhary, AAG with Shrawan Singh Rathore, Deputy Government Advocate appeared for the respondents.
“…The mere disposal of the appeal does not furnish a valid ground for their withdrawal. Therefore, it is directed that all medical facilities, assistance, attendant support, and other accommodations permitted to the petitioner under the earlier orders passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this Court shall continue to remain available to him, without interruption, for the entire period during which he remains in custody, subject only to any future modification that may become necessary upon a substantial change in his medical condition or upon orders passed by a competent court”, the Bench further directed.
As per the facts, the petitioner had previously secured various interim concessions from both the Supreme Court and the High Court during the long-drawn appellate process. These included permissions to receive outside food once a day, continuous assistance of an inmate to operate a wheelchair, and periodic consultations with private doctors.
The prison authorities stopped these facilities upon the formal conclusion of his criminal appeal, contending that a permanent life convict could not be granted differential or preferential treatment over other inmates lodged in the same ward.
On the basis of the established principles, the Court noted that the right to life embraces the bare necessaries of existence, and jail officials cannot strip a citizen of human dignity upon conviction. Relying on AIIMS Jodhpur reports detailing that Asaram suffers from critical coronary artery disease, severe osteoporosis, and sarcopenia, making it dangerous for him to rise from the floor, the Court found the denial of a bed to be an avoidable physical hazard.
“This Court is of the considered opinion that the entitlement of a prisoner to receive necessary medical facilities, assistance, and other accommodations required on account of his health condition cannot be made contingent upon the procedural stage of the criminal proceedings. Whether a person is an under-trial prisoner, a convict whose appeal is pending adjudication, or a convict whose appeal has already been decided, the obligation of the State to ensure adequate medical care and humane treatment while such person remains in custody continues unabated. The disposal of an appeal, by itself, does not create any legal basis for curtailing, withdrawing, or recalling facilities that were granted primarily to address the peculiar medical needs of the prisoner”, the Bench said.
“The rights of a prisoner do not stand eclipsed upon conviction, nor can they be diminished merely because the appellate proceedings have attained finality. It is well settled that a prisoner continues to retain all fundamental and human rights except those which are necessarily curtailed by virtue of lawful incarceration”, further noted.
However, the Court heavily trimmed his other demands, stating that the prison's existing medical dispensary, cooling fans, and emergency tie-ups with public ambulance networks were entirely sufficient to handle his health status without granting luxury exemptions.
Cause Title: Asharam Alias Ashumal v. State of Rajasthan & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2026:RJ-JD:26707)
Appearances:
Petitioner: R.S. Saluja, Arpit Surana Saluja, Yashpal Singh Rajpurohit, Bharat Sain, and Aaditya Dangi, Advocates.
Respondents: Deepak Choudhary, Additional Advocate General with Shrawan Singh Rathore, Deputy Government Advocate, and Kuldeep Singh Rathore, Advocates.