The Madras high court on Wednesday granted bail to self-styled godman Siva Sankar Baba in the eighth case booked by the police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on charges of sexually harassing school students who studied at his private school.
He had been arrested under various sections of IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition and Harassment of Women Act.
With the high court granting the relief in the eighth case, Siva Sankar Baba is all set to walk out free from the prison shortly. He had already obtained bail in seven other cases.
Justice G Jayachandran granted the bail subject to the conditions that he should surrender his passport to the Special Court in Chengalpattu and appear before the CB-CID, as and when necessary.
This will be in addition to the conditions stipulated by the Supreme Court, which granted him conditional bail recently in the first case registered against him in June 2021, the judge said.
According to the apex court conditions, he should not enter Sushil Hari International Residential School in Kelambakkam, near here, which was founded by him more than a decade ago.
{{/usCountry}}According to the apex court conditions, he should not enter Sushil Hari International Residential School in Kelambakkam, near here, which was founded by him more than a decade ago.
{{/usCountry}}Last year, students and alumni of schools in Chennai began complaining of sexual assault at the hands of the teachers, coaches which snowballed into a #metoo movement of sorts in educational institutions across Tamil Nadu. Chennai police alone had arrested at least half-a-dozen teachers and the cases are under investigation. It was during this time, when students of Sushil Hari International Residential School at Kelambakkam on the outskirts of Chennai began to make several charges of sexual assault against the Baba. Based on the complaint of victims, three cases were registered under POCSO Act and Women Harassment Act in Mamallapuram All Women Police Station against Siva Sankar Baba last June. The cases were transferred to CBCID by the Tamil Nadu DGP for further investigation on June 13. The Baba had gone absconding.
A CB-CID team, led by deputy superintendent of police Gunavarman, rushed to Delhi and conducted an investigation. The accused was arrested from Chittaranjan Park in Delhi on June 16 last year. He was produced in a court in Delhi, and a transit warrant was obtained to bring him to Chennai. He has been in custody since.