Court restrains jailed seer from interfering in mutt activities

The police have filed two separate cases against Sharanaru under the Pocso Act after three minor girls complained of sexual harassment and rape.

Exercising powers under the Religious Institutions (Prevention Of Misuse) Act, 1988, Chitradurga second additional and sessions court judge B K Komala on Thursday ordered Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Mutt (SJM) pontiff Shivamurthy Sharanaru not to interfere with any affairs of SJM mutt or SJM educational institutions.

Shivamurthy Sharanaru, facing two Pocso cases, is in judicial custody since September 2. (ANI)

The SJM mutt pontiff, facing two Pocso cases, is in judicial custody since September 2.

Despite pressure from the Lingayat community on him to give up the position of the pontiff, he has refused to step down and appointed Basava Prabhu Swamiji to perform pooja rituals.

Earlier this week, retired judge PS Vastrad was appointed by the Karnataka government as the administrator of SJM educational institutions.

The police have filed two separate cases against Sharanaru under the Pocso Act after three minor girls complained of sexual harassment and rape.

The Chitradurga rural police have also submitted a charge sheet in the first Pocso case to the court. The investigation is going on in the second POCSO case in which two minor girls alleged rape against the seer.

‘’Where any manager or other employee of a religious institution is accused of an offence under religious institutions prevention of misuse act; and a charge-sheet for the prosecution of such person is filed in any court; the court is of the opinion, after considering the charge-sheet and after hearing the prosecution and the accused, that a prima facie case exists, the court has powers to pass the order,” said the public prosecutor of the case B Nagaveni, explaining the order.

She said the court should pass an order or direction restraining the person from exercising the powers or discharging the duties of his office or post-pending trial.

‘’The Lingayat community welcomes the order of the court. The mutt has a history of 400 years and has thousands of devotees, the pontiff becoming accused of POCSO is a shame,” Lingayat leader and former minister H Ekanthaiah told HT.

Ekanthaiah headed a delegation of Lingayat leaders who met chief minister Basavaraja Bommai and urged to appoint a pontiff and administrator to the SJM mutt.