Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 25 : The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and his disciple Swami Mukundanand Giri in the alleged sexual harassment case.
The order was delivered by a single bench of Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha. The High Court had reserved its verdict on February 27 (Friday) after completing the hearing. Both people had approached the High Court seeking anticipatory bail to avoid arrest in the case.
The development comes after an FIR was registered at Jhunsi Police Station following directions from ADJ (Rape and POCSO Special Court) Vinod Kumar Chaurasia.
The order was passed on an application filed under Section 173(4) by Ashutosh Brahmachari, a disciple of Swami Rambhadracharya.
Earlier, on February 27, Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati welcomed the Allahabad High Court's order staying his arrest in connection with the POCSO case, stating that the court agreed with their appeal.
While staying the arrest of Shankracharya and his disciple Pratyakchaitanya Mukundanand Giri, the High Court has reserved its order on their anticipatory bail application earlier today.
Addressing a press conference here, the Shankracharya reiterated his stance that the case is fabricated and stated that the court's judgement reaffirms the same.
"Our counsel informed that the court has stayed our arrest after listening to both sides during the hearing. Our appeal was that the case is fabricated. Surely the judge found substance in our appeal, and so he gave the verdict. That is why we were saying from the beginning to present the truth in the court, and the verdict affirms that the court agrees this case has been false," he said.
"We had always hoped for justice. But given the circumstances these days, trust has become a risky affair. But we were ready to present our side before the bench. We had believed that someone, somewhere, would not be biased and would fight for the truth," he added.