NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Monday observed that the gravity of the offence against self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati increased manifold given the number of victims involved in the case, while hearing his bail plea. Saraswati, the former chairman of a private management institute, is in judicial custody for allegedly molesting 17 women students.
Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh, who adjourned the hearing to October 27, said that no grounds were made out at this stage for the grant of statutory bail.
During the proceedings, the defence counsel argued that Saraswati had been falsely implicated and that the alleged offences were minor in nature. He contended that the only non-bailable charge under BNS Section 232 (threatening any person to give false evidence) carried a maximum punishment of three years, and that other sections were bailable.
“The allegations are that he put colours on his disciples during Holi and shook hands with them. These are not sexual offences,” the defence argued. However, the court remarked, “The gravity of the offence increases multifold because of the number of victims.”
Responding to the counsel’s claim of false implication, the judge said, “It is possible to induce one or two persons, but how is it possible to persuade all sixteen?”
The court also noted that statements of the victims were substantive evidence in the case.
An advocate for the management institute told the court that the misconduct came to light after an Indian Air Force group captain sent an email complaint exposing Saraswati’s alleged behaviour.
The investigating officer (IO) informed the court that WhatsApp chats of the complainants were unavailable due to the “disappearing messages” feature being active on their phones, adding that only screenshots were retrieved. The IO also stated that three women, accused of forcing students to delete chats, had been “bound down” but not arrested. Saraswati was arrested from a hotel in Agra last month.
Offences were minor in nature: Defence counsel
The defence counsel argued that Saraswati had been falsely implicated and that the alleged offences were minor in nature. He contended that the only non-bailable charge under BNS Section 232 (threatening any person to give false evidence) carried a punishment of 3 years, that other sections were bailable.
