The Allahabad High Court Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and co-accused and disciple, Swami Pratyakchaitanya Mukundanand Giri, who are named in a case of sexual assault of two boys, including a minor, and booked under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act charges.
While granting bail, the single bench of Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha raised questions over the sequence of lodging the FIR against the duo and why the victims approached the complainant first and not a guardian. It also noted that a medical examination of the victims was not carried out.
The complaint was lodged in Prayagraj on February 21 by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj.
The judge had earlier stayed the arrests and reserved the order while hearing the anticipatory bail application on February 27.
Key observations
In its order, the court noted that the date on which the complainant received information regarding the offence from the victims and the dispute between Saraswati and the Prayagraj administration over bathing at the Sangam on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya are the same — January 18, 2026. Therefore, the facts are required to be looked into with greater care and caution, it said.
The court observed that the victims narrated the incident to the informant, who is a stranger, and not their natural guardians. It noted that the reason for confiding in Maharaj, as given by the victims, is that he used to visit Saraswati, garland him and touch his feet, therefore, he was the right person to be informed about the offence. The above reasoning appears to be unusual and not consistent with a normal course of human conduct, the court observed.
It also observed that the victims remained in constant company of Maharaj and were not placed in proper custody, or sent to the custody of their parents, before February 25.
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After the FIR was lodged, the court said the victims’ statements were recorded and they were interviewed by various Hindi news channels in violation of established procedure under the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts.
It further noted that the victims are not students of Saraswati’s ashram.
The court further observed that the place of occurrence mentioned in the FIR is Prayagraj and the period of occurrence from January 2025 to February 2026 — Mahakumbh to Magh Mela. Whereas, it observed, one victim stated that he was subjected to sexual assault in June 2024 at Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh and Badrinath in Uttarakhand. The date of birth of the said victim, as per his educational certificate, is August 2006. This, the court observed, means he was a major on the alleged date of incident as described in the FIR but a minor during June 2024.
It also said the victims are said to have apprised Maharaj of the incident on January 18 whereas the latter, for the first time, gave above information to the police on January 24. Asked by the inquiry team about the delay of six days, the court noted, he had stated that he was busy in “pooja/yagya”. Whereas on January 21, the court observed that he had filed an application relating to an alleged incident involving commission of offence under BNS Section 109 (attempt to murder) and other sections.
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The court noted that the medical report prepared by the doctor did not find any external injury on the victims and it has been opined that sexual assault cannot be ruled out and an FSL report has been sought, which clearly shows that a conclusive finding has not been given by the doctor regarding commission of sexual assault. A medical examination was not conducted, said the court, which is required in cases involving sexual assault.
Issuing the order, Justice Sinha stated, “Considering the above factual matrix and without expressing any opinion on its merits, a case for grant of anticipatory bail is made out. The foregoing discussion and conclusions are limited for the purpose of deciding this application for anticipatory bail; they shall have no bearing on the investigation/trial.”
The court also directed Saraswati, his disciple, the victims and Maharaj not to give any interviews to the media regarding the present case during pendency of the investigation and trial.
The seer and the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh governmentunder Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have been in a prolonged confrontation after a dispute during the Magh Mela in Prayagraj over a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam.
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Earlier this month, Saraswati launched a march from Varanasi to Lucknow on March 7, called the “Gau Pratishtharth Dharma Yuddh Shankhnaad Yatra”, during which the seer intensified his criticism of the CM.
