Page 26 - June2018

er quest for justice con- Chinmayanad withdrew this case Ram Naik opposing the withdrawal
tinued against a saf- from the High Court on 16 Febru- of the pending case of rape and kid-
fron-clad, high-profile ary 2018, believing that the BJP-led napping against Chinmayanand.
powerful politician and state government will withdraw the Governor Ram Naik took cogni-
H present BJP member of criminal case against him. zance of her complaint and wrote a
Uttar Pradesh, despite all the ob- True to his expectations, Chief letter to the chief minister to review
stacles that influenced her way to Minister Yogi Adityanath kept his the government’s decision but to no
justice. promise and issued instructions avail. The victim filed objections be-
The issuance of bailable war- to law and justice department to fore the court too.
rant against Swami Chinmayanand withdraw prosecution in the case Considering facts and circum-
by the chief judicial magistrate of against Chinmayanad soon after stances including material pro-
Shahjhanpur, Shikha Pradhan, in an visiting Mumukshu Ashram situ- duced before it after investigations,
alleged rape and kidnapping case ated at Shajhanpur on 25 February. the court rejected the government’s
has sent ripples in the corridors of The CM had attended the conclud- application for withdrawing the
power. The entire government ma- ing ceremony of ‘Mumuksh Yuva case against him-pending trial since
chinery was trying to shield him Mahotsav’ on the invitation of Swa- 2011 and found sufficient material to
from being a close associate of RSS mi Chinmayanand and shared food initiate a trial. The court then issued
family who was three times BJP MP with him and his close associates. a bailable warrant against Swami
and minister of state for internal Swami Chinmayanand is also the Chinmayanand on May 25, 2018,
security during the Atal Bihari Vaj- founder of Mumuksh Ashram De- and also, directed him to be present

Will Swami Chinmayanand’s victim

be given justice after 14 years?

No matter how hard the Yogi Adityanath government tried to shield the alleged rape
accused and BJP member, Swami Chinmayanand, the issuance of bailable warrant against

him has entrusted a hope of fair trial and justice to the victim’s quest, writes mudit mathur

payee government in 1999. gree College. Also, Chinmayanand before the court on the next date of
Swami Chinmayanand was suc- and Yogi Adityanath are the disci- the hearing, July 12, to face further
cessful in evading his arrest even ples of the same guru (master). trial proceeding.
after a Sadhvi of his Ashram regis- The BJP government withdrew Mukesh Gupta, counsel for the
tered an FIR under charges of rape the rape and kidnapping case rape survivor told Tehelka, “the
and kidnapping against him. His against Swami Chinmayanand court has accepted our application
arrest was stayed by the High Court on 6 March 2018. In compliance in which we have mentioned that
and he roamed freely during the with the government’s decision, a the state government cannot with-
slow pace of the investigations. De- public prosecutor moved an ap- draw this case as the complainant is
spite his indictment in the charge plication under section 321 of CrPC not willing to withdraw it. The court
sheet filed before the trial court, (withdrawal from prosecution) has rejected the state government’s
the trial did not proceed in view of before the court on 12 March 2018. application. The crime had affected
the orders of the High Court dated Aggrieved by the decision of the the life of the complainant and the
14.12.2012 that stayed further pro- government, the rape victim ap- state government doesn’t have the
ceedings in the case. After Yogi Adi- proached various authorities in- right to withdraw it.”
tyanath assumed office of the Chief cluding the Chief Justice of India, Al- The worst was when the victim
Minister, an over-confident Swami lahabad High Court and Governor alleged getting pregnant because of

Tehelka / 15 june 2018 26 www.Tehelka.com

26-28 Mudit.indd 2 06/06/18 1:19 PM