New Delhi: Allahabad High Court has given big relief to Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati. In the hearing held on Friday, the court stayed his arrest. This case is registered under the POCSO Act, in which serious allegations related to minors have been made. The court has reserved its decision on the anticipatory bail petition, but the police will not be able to arrest him until the order comes.
Court hearing and decision
A single bench of Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha heard this sensitive case in the afternoon. Swami Avimukteshwaranand had filed a petition for anticipatory bail. During the hearing, lawyers from both sides presented their arguments.
Swamy’s counsel senior advocate Dilip Kumar gave information about the criminal background of complainant Ashutosh Brahmachari and raised questions on the contents of the FIR. He said that the age of a child has been shown as adult in the mark sheet.
On the other hand, the complainant’s lawyer opposed the anticipatory bail. Additional Advocate General from the government side also raised objection on granting bail. After hearing all the arguments, the court reserved its decision and put a stay on the arrest for the time being. The court has also directed Swamy to cooperate fully in the investigation.
How did the controversy start?
This entire controversy is related to the FIR registered in Jhunsi police station of Prayagraj. On the complaint of two Batukas, a case was registered against Swami Avimukteshwaranand, his disciple Mukundanand and some others under the provisions of the POCSO Act.
Initially the police did not register an FIR, so complainant Ashutosh Brahmachari filed a petition in the district court under Section 173(4) of CrPC. The police registered an FIR on the orders of Rape and POCSO Special Court Judge Vinod Kumar Chaurasia.
High Court’s stance to avoid arrest
After this, Swamy moved the High Court to avoid arrest. He described the allegations as completely baseless and termed it a conspiracy by the ruling party. Swamy says that the children who are said to be victims have been living with Ashutosh Brahmachari for a long time. He also termed the alleged incident of January 17 as false and raised the question as to why the complainant remains present with the police during the investigation.
Due to the order of the court, the police will not be able to arrest Swamy immediately, but the investigation will continue. This matter is quite sensitive, hence the eyes of legal experts and common people are fixed on it. It may take time for the final decision on anticipatory bail to come. At present, Swamy has got relief, but the situation is not clear till the investigation is completed.
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