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Kanchi Shankaracharya’s bail plea rejected |
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The Madras High Court has rejected the bail application of the Kanchi Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswathi in the case relating to the murder of Sankararaman, manager of a temple in Kanchipuram. In a 16-page order, the court said that the investigation is at its threshold and the offence the Acharaya is charged with is serious. The judge said that a perusal of the case diary shows that there was prima facie material in the form of statements made by various persons implicating the petitioner as the conspirator and indicating that money received from the Shankaracharya was used for committing the crime.
Before the High Court rejected the bail application, a Kanchipuram magistrate sent the Shankaracharya into three days of police custody. Earlier, he was in judicial custody after his arrest in the case.
In another development, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa told the state Assembly that the Government action against the Kanchi Shankaracharya was based on firm evidence of his involvement in the Sanakraraman murder case. She said the Government action is in tune with the dictum that all, high or low, are equal before the law.
The BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad continue to agitate against the arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee led a party delegation which met President Kalam in New Delhi to protest against the manner in which the Shankaracharya had been arrested and then jailed. The party later announced that it would launch a nationwide movement against the action of the Tamil Nadu Government. The party also indicated that it is prepared to say farewell to the All India Anna-DMK on the issue of excesses committed against the pontiff by the Jayalalithaa government. The BJP and the All India Anna-DMK had fought this year’s parliamentary elections in an alliance at the state level.
The Congress says that the BJP’s reaction to the Shankaracharya’s arrest is childish. Party spokesman Abhishekh Singhvi said the statements of the BJP leaders suggest a complete lack of faith in the democratic process, in the judicial process and the entire system of governance in the country.
The Prime Minister has made it clear that the Centre had no role in the action taken against the Kanchi Shankaracharya. Speaking in Hyderabad, Dr. Manmohan Singh said : “It is not correct to say that we had a role. To say the least; it is not our concern.”
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