Swami Avimukteshwaranand moves Allahabad HC seeking anticipatory bail in POCSO case

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Tuesday approached the Allahabad High Court seeking anticipatory bail after an FIR was registered against him under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), officials said.

Sources informed PTI that a notice was sent to the office of the government advocate prior to filing the bail application. The case stems from an FIR lodged at Jhunsi police station in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari over allegations of sexual abuse of two persons, including a minor, over the past year.

According to the FIR, complainants including Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj and two others alleged that the accused sexually abused them at a gurukul and during religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela in Prayagraj. The case was registered following an order by a special judge under the POCSO Act directing police to act on an application moved by the complainants.

Officials said the FIR also names two to three unidentified persons. The complaint alleges that the accused, posing as religious preceptors, subjected the minor and another youth to repeated sexual assault on multiple occasions. All allegations are subject to investigation and have not been tested in court.

The seer, who was recently in the news following a dispute with organisers of the Magh Mela over being allegedly stopped from taking a ritual bath on Mauni Amavasya, denied the allegations while speaking to reporters at Vidya Math in Varanasi.

Talking to reporters, Saraswati said some lawyers had approached him offering legal assistance but claimed he was unaware of any specific legal steps taken. He also displayed a photograph and alleged that a police officer from Prayagraj was at the centre of a “conspiracy” against him.

The image, he said, showed the officer cutting a cake with Ashutosh Brahmachari standing nearby. Saraswati further alleged that administrative action against him began on 18 January, coinciding with Mauni Amavasya.

Despite legal provisions requiring prompt registration of FIRs in POCSO cases, police did not initially file a case on their own and acted only after a court directive, he claimed. He also alleged that the court order “focused more on legal rulings than on evidence” and hinted that unnamed individuals were backing the complainant.

Additionally, Saraswati claimed that officials of the Varanasi Development Authority had recently surveyed the Vidya Math premises and alleged that the “entire system” was being used to pressure him to withdraw from a cow protection campaign — an allegation that authorities have not publicly responded to.

Police said further investigation is underway.

With inputs from PTI