Prayagraj

The Allahabad High Court on Friday granted interim relief to Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand by staying his arrest in connection with a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court also extended protection to his disciple Pratyakchaitanya Mukundanand Giri. While granting interim protection from coercive action, the court reserved its order on their anticipatory bail applications.

The matter was heard by a single bench of Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha in a packed courtroom, where advocates and the Station House Officer of Jhunsi police station were present. After over an hour of arguments, the court directed authorities not to take immediate action against the Shankaracharya and asked him to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

During the hearing, the defence argued that one of the alleged victims was a minor, while also claiming that the allegations related to incidents in Madhya Pradesh and Prayagraj, even though the students concerned were regular students in Hardoi. The counsel submitted that according to academic records, one of them is an adult and does not belong to the Ashram. It was also argued that the complainant has multiple criminal cases against him.

The anticipatory bail plea was opposed by the victims’ side as well as the State government, which raised objections regarding the maintainability of the application. Senior Advocate Dilip Gupta, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, Government Advocate Patanjali Mishra, and the complainant’s counsel Reena N Singh presented their submissions before the court.

Following the hearing, advocate P N Mishra, representing the Shankaracharya, said the court had stayed the arrest and reserved its order on anticipatory bail. He termed the allegations “false and fabricated,” stating that nothing suspicious was found in the medical and enquiry reports.

An FIR was registered last Sunday at Jhunsi police station against Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Mukundanand Giri, and three unidentified persons, following an order by a Special Judge under the POCSO Act on a complaint filed by Ashutosh Brahmachari. Police have conducted preliminary questioning since the registration of the case.

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The High Court is expected to deliver its final order on the anticipatory bail plea in the third week of March.