SC allows Godman to travel abroad

Controversial godman Chandraswami, 60, can finally travel abroad to met his disciples after the Supreme Court ruled in his favour.

Controversial godman Chandraswami, 60, can finally travel abroad to met his disciples after the Supreme Court ruled in his favour.

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A bench headed by Justice VS Sirpurkar on Thursday allowed him to undertake the 30-day foreign tour, but asked him to deposit Rs 10 lakh in cash as security deposit to ensure that he comes back to face trial. The court did not agree with the government counsel’s submission that he would not return if allowed to travel abroad.

Chandraswami, facing trial in nine cases under the Foreign Exchange Violation Act (FERA) and one under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, was restrained from travelling abroad as a condition for his release on bail, which required him to surrender his passport.

Chandraswami’s counsel Santosh Chauriha told HT, “Swamiji has not travelled abroad since 1995. He will be visiting the UK, the UAE and Mauritius to address his disciples and perform poojas.”

The SC dismissed the petitions filed by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI challenging the January 31, 2008 decision of the Delhi High Court upholding the trial court’s decision to allow him to travel abroad.