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Court acquits pontiff in 2022 Pocso case
A Chitradurga court acquitted Murugha Mutt leader Shivamurthy Murugha Sharan of sexual harassment charges under Pocso, citing lack of evidence.
A Chitradurga court on Wednesday acquitted Shivamurthy Murugha Sharan, leader of the Murugha Mutt, in one of the two cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act against him on charges of sexual harassment of girls staying in the hostel run by the mutt.
Second additional sessions court judge Gangadharappa Hadapad held that the pontiff and two co-accused, Rashmi and Paramashivayya, were not guilty of the charges brought against them. A detailed judgment is awaited.
The case was registered in August 2022 after two minors residing in the hostel alleged sexual abuse by five individuals, including the leader, a warden, a manager, and two others associated with the institution. The FIR was registered under the Pocso Act, 2012 (Sections 5(L), 6, 7) and the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Sections 376(2)(N), 376(3), 149).
The case, first filed in Mysuru, was later transferred to Chitradurga. Police arrested the leader and the warden within six days. He remained in jail for nearly 14 months.
Two names were dropped from the charge sheet filed on October 27, 2022, with investigators citing lack of merit in the FIR.
A separate case of sexual harassment, registered on October 13, 2022, based on a complaint from an employee at the mutt, is still pending.
In that case, the employee accused the pontiff of sexually abusing his two minor daughters, who were staying in the hostel. Seven individuals, including mutt staff, were named in the FIR.
The matter remains under inquiry.
The high court granted conditional bail to the pontiff in November 2023, leading to his release. However, he was taken into custody again four days later after failing to secure bail in the second case. Though a sessions court issued the arrest order, he was released the same evening following high court intervention.
The victims later approached the Supreme Court, which directed that the leader remain in custody until the completion of the primary evidence stage. He surrendered in May 2024 and remained in judicial custody until the examination of 13 witnesses was completed. He secured bail in October 2024.
Child rights activists associated with Odanadi Seva Samsthe, which had supported the complainants, expressed concern about the verdict. “The investigators made many mistakes. Important documents were not submitted. A conspiracy case was filed against us simply because we questioned the lapses,” activist ML Parashuram said.
He added that he would comment further only after going through the full judgment.
Another activist, KV Stanley, said the state should take the case forward.
“If the government fails to challenge the judgment, we will file an appeal ourselves. The system stood with the accused; no one stood with the children. Hundreds of mistakes were made during the investigation,” he said.
Counsel for the leader, KB Swami confirmed the verdict.
After the judgment, Murugha Sharan told reporters, “I will have to remain quiet for a few more days. The time to speak is not far, and I will convene a formal press meet and place all the details before you.” To every question posed by journalists, he responded, “No comments.”
Even before he reached the mutt, devotees gathered on the premises and raised slogans in his support.
When he arrived, leaders present appealed to the crowd to stop chanting slogans, but the celebrations continued as devotees distributed sweets among themselves.
