In a significant development in the matter, a Special Leave Petition has been moved in the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court's March 25 order granting anticipatory bail to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati in the Prayagraj POCSO Case over alleged sexual abuse of minors.
Ashutosh Brahmachari, the first informant in the case, has filed the petition through AOR Saurabh Ajay Gupta, arguing that the High Court failed to adequately consider the severity of the allegations against Swami.It may be recalled that the High Court granted relief to the Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math partly due to what it termed the 'unusual' behavior of the minor victims, who chose to confide about the alleged offences in a stranger (the informant) rather than their natural guardians.
In its 22-page order, the High Court also rejected the State's argument that there is a statutory presumption of guilt against the accused under Section 29 of the POCSO Act. The bench clarified that this presumption cannot be invoked at the pre-arrest stage before charges are actually framed.
The bench also highlighted a 6-day delay in informing the police about the alleged crime. While the victims allegedly informed Brahmachari on January 18, 2026, he did not contact the police until January 24, as he claimed that he was occupied with a "Pooja/Yagya".
The HC had also noted that despite claiming to be tied up with "Pooja/Yagya", the informant (Brahmachari) filed a separate application on January 21 concerning a different alleged incident under Section 109 and other sections of the BNS.
The Court had also taken strong exception to the media's involvement in the matter as after the registration of the FIR, various Hindi news channels interviewed the minor victims and recorded their statements.
The Court termed this as a direct violation of established procedures under the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.Importantly, the High Court also stressed that the facts of the case require "greater care and caution" given a notable coincidence. Essentially, the date the informant allegedly got to know about the abuse (January 18, 2026) was the exact same day a separate dispute arose between the accused and the local administration regarding bathing in the Sangam on the holy occasion of Mauni Amavasya.
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