Prayagraj, February 27: The Allahabad High Court on Friday granted relief to Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand by staying his arrest in connection with a POCSO case.
While staying the arrest of Shankracharya and his disciple Pratyakchaitanya Mukundanand Giri, the High Court has reserved its order on their anticipatory bail application.
Following a hearing that lasted over an hour, the single bench of Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha delivered the decision in a packed courtroom, with advocates and the Jhunsi Police Station SHO.
The HC order provided interim protection from coercive action until further hearing in the matter. The bench directed the authorities not to take any immediate action against the Shankaracharya and stated that he would cooperate with the ongoing police investigation.
During the hearing, the defence described one victim as a minor. The anticipatory bail application was opposed by the victims' side. Senior Advocate Dilip Gupta, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, Government Advocate Patanjali Mishra, and the complainant's advocate Reena N Singh presented their arguments regarding the application.
The petitioner's counsel argued that the allegations of exploitation pertain to MP and Prayagraj, yet the victims are regular students in Hardoi.
According to the marksheets, one of them is an adult. They do not belong to the Ashram. Furthermore, it was argued that the complainant himself is involved in several crimes.
However, the government raised objections regarding the maintainability of the application. Advocates for the State Government and the complainant opposed the anticipatory bail.
The final judgment is expected in the third week of March.
Speaking to the media after the court's order, the counsel for the Shankracharya, Advocate PN Mishra, lauded the decision and said that the allegations against the Swami are all "false and fabricated," adding that nothing suspicious was found in the medical and enquiry report.
"The court has stayed the arrest on him after the hearing, and they have reserved the order (on anticipatory bail). We presented that the student was not from our school but from a school in Hardoi. Their own certificate has proved them wrong. The allegations say that the student was kept in house arrest in the hostel since 2024, while the certificate says that he passed out from the Hardaoi school in 2025. Whatever allegations are placed on him are false and fabricated. Nothing suspicious was found in the medical report, and so has the enquiry report," he said.
An FIR was registered against Swami Avimukteshwaranand and his disciple Mukundanand Giri, and three unidentified individuals at the Jhunsi police station last Sunday, following an order by the Special Judge (POCSO Act) on an application by Ashutosh Brahmachari. Jhunsi police have already conducted interrogations after the case was filed. (ANI)
