Swami Chinmayanand, a former Union Minister, granted anticipatory bail by the Allahabad HC

Case: Swami Chinmiyanand Saraswati Pupil v. State of UP & Anr

Bench: Justice Samit Gopal

Swami Chinmayanand, a former Union Minister, was granted anticipatory bail on Tuesday by the Allahabad High Court for the suspected rape of a law student in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh in 2011.

A four-week deadline was also set by the Court for the victim and the State government to file a reply.

According to counsel for the petitioner, Chinmayanand was protected from arrest during the pendency of the investigation by an order dated July 16, 2012, passed by a Division Bench of the High Court. Moreover, he is an old person aged about 75 years having several sicknesses.

The argument was that since Chinmayanand had been granted a protective order during the investigation, he may be granted anticipatory bail until the conclusion of the trial.

While opposing anticipatory bail, the State's counsel could not dispute the applicant's protection while the investigation was ongoing. In addition, he conceded that the State government had decided not to prosecute Chinmayanand.

After hearing the parties, the Court granted anticipatory bail to the applicant.

BACKGROUND

The complainant in the present case, an LL.M. student from Swami Shukdevanand Law College (SS Law College) in Shahjahanpur, posted videos online accusing Swami Chinmayanand of sexual harassment and rape.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate this case, and Chinmayanand was arrested on September 21, 2019. The 23-year-old student was also later arrested and booked for extortion.

As a result of the unclear nature of who used whom, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to Chinmayanand and the student in February 2020. However, the Apex Court dismissed the petition challenging Chinmayanand's bail by the HC.

Additionally, the Court issued notice to Chinmayanand in a separate plea seeking to transfer the rape trial from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.

If Chinmayanand surrenders before the relevant magistrate before November 30, 2022, the Supreme Court has extended its order not to take coercive action against him.