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Daily Pioneer
Vijayendra's bail plea rejected
K Venkataramanan / Chengalpattu (TN)
The District and Sessions Court here on Thursday declined to grant bail to Sri Vijayendra Saraswati, the jailed junior Shankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, holding that there was a prima facie case to try him for the murder of temple manager A. Sankararaman, and that he might have had a strong motive as the victim had threatened to expose his "immoral activities."
" The petitioner is the junior pontiff of a renowned Mutt and many of the witnesses are either employees or devotees of the Mutt... What is (of) paramount consideration is the status of the petitioner wielding considerable influence as a religious head with reference to the victim and the witnesses," Chengalpattu Sessions Judge G M Akbar Ali said in his 10-page order pronounced in open court.
Referring to the Apex Court order granting bail to Sri Jayendra Saraswati in the same case, the Judge observed that Sri Vijayendra could not claim parity with the senior. "The circumstances, which were considered for granting bail to the senior pontiff by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, were different from the circumstances involving the petitioner at this stage," Mr Ali said.
The Judge cited two cases in which bail had been denied to religious personages facing serious charges even after chargesheets were filed against them. 'Swami' Premananda, who is serving a double life sentence for murder and rape, and Father John Joseph, also tried for murder and rape, were both disallowed bail pending trial.
" The facts and circumstances referred to above where the request for bail was rejected in a pending trial are similar to that of the facts and circumstances of the instant case," he said.
In a significant observation, the Court said the allegations made by Sankararaman could be "more damaging to the Junior than to the Senior." It took note of a meeting between Sri Jayendra Saraswati and the deceased Sankararaman at Nazarethpet, near Chennai, where the latter showed "more resentment towards the activities of the Junior Acharya and his brother Raghu and manager, Sundaresa Iyer."
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