7 months ago
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A Delhi court, portion proceeding the bail plea of self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati on Monday (October 13, 2025), observed that the gravity of the offence accrued multifold due to the fact that of the fig of victims.
Saraswati is successful judicial custody successful a lawsuit wherever helium is accused of molesting 17 women students.
Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh, who adjourned the plea to October 27, observed during the proceedings that nary grounds were made astatine the contiguous signifier for the assistance of statutory bail.
To the defence counsel’s vehement insistence that Saraswati had been implicated successful the case, the justice orally observed, "The gravity of the offence increases multifold due to the fact that of the fig of victims." Earlier, the accused’s counsel said that his lawsuit was falsely implicated, and a mendacious lawsuit had been lodged aft the unfortunate girls were threatened and induced that their assistance would beryllium withdrawn.
"You are saying that helium [accused] has been implicated. But determination are 16 victims. It is imaginable to induce one, two, perchance adjacent three, but however is it imaginable to transportation each 16?" the justice said.
Saraswati's counsel said that each the alleged offences but for BNS Section 232 (threatening immoderate idiosyncratic to springiness mendacious evidence) were bailable and that the offence, which was added aboriginal during the investigation, was punishable with a maximum condemnation of 3 years.
He said that determination was nary worldly connecting Saraswati, erstwhile president of a backstage absorption institute here, with the alleged offences and that BNS Section 232 was not made retired successful the case.
"The allegations are that helium enactment colours connected his disciples connected Holi, and helium had handshakes with them. Please look astatine the allegations. There are nary intersexual offences," the advocator said.
The justice replied, "The statements of victims, each 16 of them. Are they not substantive evidence?" During the proceedings, the advocator for the backstage absorption institute told the tribunal that "the lid was blown off" successful the contiguous lawsuit aft receiving an email from a pistillate Indian Air Force radical skipper astir Saraswati's misdemeanour.
The investigating serviceman (IO) informed the tribunal that WhatsApp chats of the complainants were not disposable due to the fact that of the "disappearing messages" diagnostic being enabled successful their mobile phones, and that determination were lone screenshots of the chats.
"Three women are besides involved. They forced the students to delete the chats," the IO said.
To the court’s question astir whether the 3 women had been arrested, the IO said they were lone “bound down”. The tribunal past adjourned the bail plea to October 27 aft noting the petition by Saraswati's counsel.
A Delhi Police squad past period arrested Saraswati from Agra, wherever helium was staying astatine a hotel.
According to the FIR, Saraswati allegedly forced pistillate students to sojourn his 4th precocious astatine night, and sent them inappropriate substance messages astatine unusual hours.
He allegedly kept way of the students' movements done his phone.
