Murugha Math seer rape case: Ktaka HC grants one week for victims lawyer to reply on vakalat validity

The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted a weeks time to the advocate representing the survivors in the Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru rape case to file objections to the Lingayat seers claim on the validity of the vakalat filed on their behalf.

The pontiff has been in custody since September 1 in the case under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Two girls studying in a school run by Murugha Math in Chitradurga district had complained about sexual offences by Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the chief pontiff of the math.

In the bail plea filed on behalf of the pontiff, the legality of the vakalat filed on the girls behalf has been questioned. The matter was heard by the single judge bench of Justice Srinivas Harish Kumar.

Swamini Ganesh Mohanambal, the advocate for the seer, argued that one Mani has filed the vakalat on behalf of the girls claiming to be the guardian of the two children but there are no documents to show that the alleged victims have consented to the vakalat.

The HC, therefore, granted one week time to file a written objection to this argument and adjourned the case.

Earlier in the day, police submitted a 694-page charge sheet in the Chitradurga district sessions court against the Murugha Math chief pontiff in the rape case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)