By Admin 
Big relief has been received from the Allahabad High Court in the alleged sexual harassment case registered against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati in Prayagraj. The High Court told the lawyers associated with the case in its chamber that there will be a stay on the arrest of both Swami Avimukteshwaranand and Mukundanand till the next hearing.
The detailed order of the court can be uploaded on the High Court website by night. In this order it will also be mentioned on which date the next hearing will be held in the third week of March. Till then no arrest will be made against the two accused, although the police can interrogate if they wish and Shankaracharya will have to cooperate fully in the investigation.
Justice J.K. Sinha’s bench reserved the decision after hearing the arguments of both the sides. Due to the huge crowd and hustle and bustle of advocates in the court room, the hearing was conducted in the chamber, where only the lawyers associated with the case were present. During the hearing, the court also asked the defense why the Sessions Court was not approached first and what was the justification for coming directly to the High Court. On behalf of the state government, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal mainly objected to the maintainability of the anticipatory bail application.
The court said- first had to go to the sessions court…
He said that the petitioner should have first gone to the Sessions Court and challenged the order there, it is not appropriate to come directly to the High Court. The government also said that the matter is related to the FIR registered on the orders of the court and the investigation is being conducted on scientific basis. The statement of the complainant has been recorded and in the further investigation the statements of the accused will also be recorded. It was also clarified by the government that if there is a possibility of destroying evidence or influencing the alleged victims and witnesses, then arrest action can be taken.
Senior advocate Dilip Gupta, while presenting arguments on behalf of Swami Avimukteshwarananda, said that full cooperation will be given in the police investigation. The defense, citing the alleged criminal background of the complainant Ashutosh Brahmachari alias Ashutosh Pandey, placed his criminal history before the court. It was also said that among the children who have been accused of exploitation by labeling them as minors, one of them has been claimed to be an adult on the basis of his mark sheet.
Where are the victimized children at this time? High Court asked
The court was also told that the second alleged victim has not been produced in the court yet. The court also asked the government lawyer where the alleged victim children are at present and what arrangements have been made for their safety.
The anticipatory bail application was strongly opposed by the complainant party and it was feared that if the accused remained outside, they could influence the evidence and witnesses. The High Court also expressed displeasure over the attitude of Ashutosh Brahmachari, who appeared through video conferencing, and reprimanded him for interrupting. During the hearing, allegations of alleged sexual exploitation during Kumbh and Magh Mela were mentioned and the FIR was also read in the court.