The Principal District and Sessions Judge of Patiala House Courts, Anju Bajaj Chandan, has listed the bail plea of self-styled godman Chaitanyanand Saraswati for hearing on Oct 13 (Monday).
The matter has been assigned to Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh after a judge recused from hearing the case on Thursday.
The bail plea of Chaitanyanand Saraswati, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with a molestation case, came up before the Principal District and Sessions Judge earlier in the day. Since a previous judge had recused from hearing the plea, the matter was referred to the district judge, who then transferred it to ASJ Deepti Devesh.
Earlier, ASJ Atul Ahlawat had also recused himself from hearing Saraswati’s anticipatory bail plea in a separate financial irregularities case.
Molestation Case & Judicial Custody
On October 3, the Patiala House Court remanded Chaitanyanand Saraswati, also known as Parthasarthy, to 14 days’ judicial custody in a molestation case. The Delhi Police had earlier interrogated him for five days during custodial remand.
According to investigators, Saraswati allegedly molested 17 girls at an educational institute in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area.
He was arrested on September 27 from Agra and brought to Delhi the next day. On September 28, he was produced before the court, which granted the police 5-day custody for interrogation. Saraswati remains in judicial custody till October 17.
His anticipatory bail plea in the financial irregularities case had earlier been rejected by the Patiala House Court.
Applications On Jail Rights & Conditions
Alongside his bail plea, Saraswati has moved multiple applications before the court regarding his rights and living conditions in jail.
On Wednesday, the Patiala House Court directed the Delhi Police to file a comprehensive reply to his application seeking permission to wear a sanyasi robe and access spiritual books in jail, in line with the jail manual. The court will hear this plea again on Monday.
In another application, Saraswati sought a copy of the seizure memo related to the case. The court asked the police to submit a proper reply by Friday.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Animesh Kumar, while hearing the plea, noted that the reply filed by the Investigation Officer was inadequate and did not cite any rule of the jail manual regarding religious clothes or books.
“Prima facie, it appears that there is no prohibition on clothes and books, so how can I prohibit?” the magistrate observed.
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