SC tells pontiff of Murugha Mutt to surrender within a week in POCSO case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the pontiff of Murugharajendra Mutt, Chitradurga to surrender within a week and remain in judicial custody until the examination of material witnesses are done within four months in a case lodged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and IPC.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prashant Kumar Mishra kept in abeyance for four months an order passed by the Karnataka High Court on November 8, 2023 granting bail to the pontiff, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru.

The court directed the trial court to examine the material witnesses within four months and complete the proceedings within one year.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the pontiff, proposed that the respondent accused would surrender and the bench may keep the HC's order in abeyance till the examinations of material witnesses within a period of four months extendable up to maximum period of six months.

Advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for the father of the victim, assailed the correctness of the high court's order as the victims were minor girls. She said since the case was related to sexual exploitation of minor girls, the bail granted by the high court must be cancelled.

After hearing the counsel for the parties at length, the bench said, "We are not inclined to pass a detailed order as the high court already passed a very detailed order touching upon various issues, including the merits."

The court said it would be appropriate if witnesses are examined as early as possible at a time when the accused respondent is in judicial custody.

It also noted that chargesheet was filed in the case for various offences under the IPC, the POCSO Act and other laws. The HC had quashed certain charges and sustained some of them and in March, 2024, it directed for framing of charges as afresh, the bench said.

In its order, the court also directed the trial court to proceed as expeditiously as possible by conducting the proceedings on a day to day basis and ensure that all the material witnesses are examined within four months.

The court directed the prosecution not to seek any adjournment. It also ordered the pontiff to cooperate during the trial and not seek any adjournment except in exceptional circumstances.

The bench said if the material witnesses are not examined within four months, the trial court may seek extension of time for the purpose from this court, and till the time, the respondent pontiff would remain in judicial custody.

The court also directed the parties to redact the names of the victims and witnesses from the court records.

The plea before the court questioned the validity of the high court's order on several grounds including that it conducted mini trial in the matter by going through the evidence and medical reports.

"The evidence of rape given by the minor victim girls constituted primary evidence that alone is sufficient to convict the accused with or without corroboration," the plea said.

Both the victim girls have been consistent right from the very beginning and there is no reason to doubt their credibility or trustworthiness at the stage of consideration bail, it contended.

The plea also said the HC's order has committed gross error in concluding that the provisions of the SC/ST Act have been wrongly invoked in the chargesheet by relying on the irrelevant consideration that if the accused intended to sexually exploit girls belonging to SC/ST, the girls belonging to those communities would not have been admitted to the hostel.

The plea also claimed the pontiff of the Mutt wields extraordinary power and influence as is clear from the "fact that two minor victim girls were being sexually abused by him for 3.5 years and 1.5 years respectively and both girls had been threatened into silence by the accused and his accomplices".

"Both the girls in their statements before the magistrate stated that they were severely beaten up. They only found the courage to reveal the details of the sexual abuse after they had been away from the hostel for a period of almost one month," it said.

The pontiff was arrested in the case on September 1, 2022.

A chargesheet was filed against him on October 28, 2022 for the offences of sexual assault and various other provisions of the POCSO Act, of the SC/ST Act, and of Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988.