Calcutta high court grants relief to Padma awardee monk in alleged rape case
The court also accepted the monk's request for an in-camera hearing, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj, is head of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha's Beldanga ashram in Murshidabad. Skipping a police summon for interrogation he moved the court on Tuesday, seeking quashing of the FIR.
'The bench of justice Jay Sengupta heard Kartik Maharaj's petition on Wednesday and directed the government not to take any immediate action on the basis of the FIR and wait for the hearing instead,' lawyer Koustav Bagchi, who represented the monk, told HT.
Lawyer Sandipan Ganguly, who represented the alleged rape survivor, objected to the appeal for in-camera hearing, saying monks who faced similar charges in the past were tried in open court. Ganguly cited the example of Gujarat's Asaram Bapu.
'Reacting to this, the bench expressed surprise on why the Murshidabad woman did not file any complaint in 13 years,' Bagchi said.
The woman has alleged in her complaint lodged at the Lalbagh police station that Swami Pradiptananda raped her repeatedly between 2012 and 2019 by promising her a job. She has alleged that she was forced to undergo an abortion in 2013.
The woman has also claimed to have talked to the monk over the phone on June 12 and alleged that two men sent by him threatened her the following day.
The monk has shared dais with Bharatiya Janata Party's Bengal leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari several times in recent months. In May 2024, chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly accused him of helping the BJP in the then ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The monk sent a legal notice to Banerjee, demanding an unconditional apology, but she stuck to her allegations.
The ruling Trinamool Congress unleashed a fresh attack on the monk after he moved the high court.
Bengal BJP leaders have alleged that the TMC was trying to frame Kartik Maharaj with trumped up charges.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Bihar was deliberately kept backward': In Patna, Rajnath targets Lalu
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, addressing the BJP state working committee in Patna on Wednesday, accused the RJD and Congress of pushing Bihar into an era of 'darkness' marked by crime, casteism and misrule. 'In Laluji's jungle raj, this land became a laboratory for crime and terror. Where once the Constitution's voice was heard, the sound of gunfire echoed instead,' Singh said, adding, 'RJD's lantern, which was supposed to bring light, ended up setting people's homes on fire instead of illuminating them.' 'Bihar is not inherently backward, but was deliberately kept backward,' the Union minister said. He also accused the RJD and Congress of having used 'power as a tool for serving their own families, not the people'. On RJD president Lalu Prasad's time as Bihar chief minister, Singh said, 'Laluji gave Bihar fear, corruption, and the rule of strongmen… Was that era, where caste replaced education and jobs were traded for favours, a paradise?… Only a handful of musclemen and their loyal officers had the right to speak, while the voices of the poor, Dalits and backward classes were crushed. Kidnapping cases were settled in government bungalows.' 'We keep talking about the past so that people don't get fooled by the glib talk of the RJD and Congress. The same mindset, the same corruption that pushed Bihar into darkness for years, is now standing before us in a new form,' the Defence Minister said. Referring to a controversy at Lalu Prasad's birthday event, where an RJD worker was seen holding Dr B R Ambedkar's picture near his feet, Singh said, 'This was not a simple mistake but reflects a mindset that has no respect for Dalit icons.' Further accusing Lalu of 'hypocrisy', he said, 'While Lalu Prasad was in power, he never bothered to do anything in the memory of Karpoori Thakur. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who conferred the Bharat Ratna on this great son of Bihar… Only the BJP and the NDA can truly carry forward Karpoori Thakur's legacy.' Highlighted the NDA's achievements in Bihar under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Singh said, 'The period did not just see economic growth, Bihar also began regaining its lost glory.' He recalled that Bihar was once called 'the armpit of India', but now, 'The world is taking note of its turnaround story.' Terming the Opposition's dream of returning to power as 'fantasy', Singh said, 'The people of Bihar are now awake and politically aware. Casteism will not work here anymore. Only development will prevail.'
Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Two incidents of assault, two states, one story — abuse of power
Two incidents of assault in two states this week tell the same dismal story: About the rule of law being flouted by the powerful, and of the sense of impunity that makes this a recurring event. In Himachal Pradesh, Anirudh Singh, the state's Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, was booked on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting two officials of the National Highways Authority of India during a site visit. Just a day earlier, in Odisha, an official of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation was dragged out of a grievance redressal meeting that he was presiding over in his chamber and beaten up by a group of individuals, who allegedly demanded that he apologise for misbehaving with BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan. It hardly matters that a Congress government is in power in Himachal Pradesh and that Odisha is a BJP-ruled state. Similar incidents in different parts of the country over the years are proof that an overblown sense of entitlement in the power-drunk translates into a disrespect for others and the rules of the game, and that it cuts across party and regional lines. These two incidents in Himachal and Odisha, in particular, highlight a disturbing winner-takes-all attitude that stems from the belief that to be in power or to have the patronage of those in power is to be above the law. In a political culture that makes fear and favour its currency, this means that the ruler-subject model, which should have no place in a democracy, becomes routinised. Bureaucrats are partners in administration, not durbaris in the raja's court. Exemplary action must be taken. In Himachal Pradesh, amidst calls for the minister's resignation, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has assured that the due process of the law will unfold. In Odisha, three of the accused have been arrested, with the BJP suspending the primary membership of five party workers for their alleged involvement in the assault on the BMC officer. In all such incidents that threaten to erode public faith in the rule of law, those found guilty of abusing their position and power must face — and they must be seen to face — the consequences of their actions. Sending out the message that no one is above the law in a democracy is the only way forward.
Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Bureaucrats go on mass leave over officer's assault, work hit across Odisha govt offices
Administrative work in Odisha government offices has been impacted as senior officials have gone on mass leave for the past two days in more than 20 districts to protest against the assault of a senior officer of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday. As the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officers are the backbone when it comes to delivering public services at the block, tehsil and district level government offices, their stir demanding action against the perpetrators has hit governance. On Monday, BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo, a senior OAS officer, was dragged out of his chamber and assaulted by a group of miscreants, who asked the officer to apologise to BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan. While the police have so far arrested five persons, including BMC corporator Jeevan Rout, the Odisha unit of the BJP has also suspended five of its workers, including Rout, for their alleged involvement in the assault. The Odisha Administrative Service Association, which announced the mass leave, placed three 'non-negotiable' demands before the CM, including the immediate arrest of BJP leader Pradhan. Association members also met Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja and placed a memorandum calling Pradhan the 'prime accused and kingpin' behind the attack. The demand to arrest Pradhan assumes significance as he had on Tuesday blamed the officer, Sahoom, of misbehaving with him and a woman sanitation worker of the BMC, leading to the assault. He also condemned the assault. The OAS association also demanded security for all field-level executive officers, including tehsildars, sub-collectors, block development officers and executive officers of civic bodies. It asked for a public condemnation of the incident by the state government. 'Considering the widespread discontentment of all the members of the Association working across the state, it has been decided that all OAS officers will continue to be on leave until the demands are met,' read a memorandum of the Association submitted to the chief secretary. The OAS body said that such a brazen act has destroyed the morale of officers working across the state. Odisha's revenue minister Suresh Pujari urged the officers not to go on mass leave given the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath is currently underway in Puri, while some pockets in northern districts are seeing a flood-like situation.
