New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the pontiff of Murugharajendra Mutt, Chitradurga, to surrender within a week in connection with a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Indian Penal Code. In November 2023, the Karnataka High Court granted bail to the pontiff, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing the pontiff, submitted before a bench led by Justice Vikram Nath that his client will surrender and the apex court can keep the High Court’s order in abeyance till the examination of witnesses is over. The bench kept the High Court in abeyance for four months and also ordered the pontiff to cooperate during the trial and not seek any adjournment except in exceptional circumstances.
Advocate Aparna Bhat, representing the victim’s father, challenged the correctness of the High Court’s order as the victims were minor girls. The bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said that while the respondent is in judicial custody it would be appropriate for the examination of the witnesses. The bench observed that a charge sheet was filed in the case for various offences under IPC, POCSO and other laws.
It was argued before the court that against the backdrop of allegations of sexual assault of minors, the pontiff cannot be allowed to continue as administrator of mutt. Another petitioner H Ekanthaiah in the matter was represented by senior advocate PB Suresh, advocates Sughosh Subramanyam and Chaitanya. The counsel said three petitions have been filed seeking the removal of the accused pontiff from mutt administration, cancellation of bail and appeal against an order quashing a cross FIR by the pontiff.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Sughosh said the apex court had directed the trial court to examine the witnesses in four months. After hearing submissions from parties in the matter, the apex court said it was not inclined to pass a detailed order as the high court already passed a very detailed order, touching upon various issues, in the matter and the Karnataka High Court had quashed certain charges and sustained some of them.
It further added that in March, this year, the High Court directed for framing of charges as afresh and directed the trial court to proceed as expeditiously as possible by conducting the proceedings on a day-to-day basis.
According to a counsel familiar with the proceedings, the apex court said the trial court may seek an extension from it if the witnesses are not examined within four weeks. The court also directed the parties to redact the names of the victims and witnesses from the court records.
In January this year, the apex court, while issuing notice, tagged the victim’s father's plea with a pending petition filed by H Ekanthaiah challenging the High Court quashing an order that restrained Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru from discharging duties as pontiff of the Mutt after his arrest in the case. The pontiff was arrested in the case on September 1, 2022.
In November 2023, the High Court allowed Sharanaru’s prayer for bail in a case of sexual abuse of minor girl children residing in a hostel headed by him. The father's plea in the apex court said: “The High Court has proceeded to hold a mini-trial at the stage of bail consideration by comparing the statements made by the victim girls under Section 161 CrPC and Section 164 CrPC”.
The plea said the pontiff of the Mutt wields extraordinary power and influence as is clear from the fact that even though the two minor victim girls were being sexually abused by him for 3.5 years and 1.5 years respectively, both girls had been threatened into silence by respondent No. 3 and his accomplices.
The plea contended that a prima facie case of aggravated sexual assault is made out in the present case and the High Court ought not to have doubted the credibility of the victim girls while considering a bail application. “That the evidence of rape given by the minor victim girls constitutes primary evidence that alone is sufficient to convict Respondent No. 3 with or without corroboration. It is also important to note that both girls have been consistent right from the very beginning and there is no reason to doubt their credibility or trustworthiness at the stage of consideration bail”, said the plea.
The plea said both victim girls have been consistent in their account of the sexual abuse in their statements before the police under Section 161 CrPC, before the magistrate under Section 164 CrPC and before the doctor who conducted the medical examination.
The plea also said the high court order had committed gross error in concluding that the provisions of the SC/ST Act had been wrongly invoked in the charge sheet by relying on the irrelevant consideration that if the accused intended to sexually exploit girls belonging to SC/ST, the girls belonging to those communities would not have been admitted to the hostel.
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