Delhi court seeks fresh status report on Saraswati’s bail plea

A Delhi court on Monday directed the police to file a further status report on the bail plea of Chaitanyananda Saraswati, arrested in a molestation case registered at the Vasant Kunj North police station.

The order came from Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Deepti Devesh after the Delhi Police sought more time, citing that most of the victims were out of station due to the session break and could not be examined. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ved Prakash appeared before the court and requested a date after November 4 to complete the process and submit a detailed report.

The matter was initially taken up at 10 am when the investigation officer sought a passover. It was heard again at 11.30 am, during which the ACP informed the court that the investigation was still in progress and that victims were unavailable for examination.

During the proceedings, the investigation officer (IO) told the court that nine victims had been examined and that the phones of all victims and the accused were sent for forensic examination.

The IO also said the remaining victims were presently out of station because of the festival holidays in the institution and that they would be back by November 4, following which they would be examined.

The court, however, observed that ongoing investigation could not be a ground for adjournment and directed the police to ensure the filing of a further status report. The matter has been listed for arguments on November 7 at 2 pm.

None of the victims appeared before the court, either in person or through videoconferencing. They were even not represented by counsel during the hearing.

Earlier on October 13, the court had sought a fresh reply from the Delhi Police on Saraswati’s bail plea. At that time, the police informed that statements of 16 victims had been recorded before the magistrate. Mobile phones of five victims had been seized, and those of 11 others were yet to be collected. The FSL examination report was still awaited.

The prosecution also submitted that obscene photographs, comments and screenshots formed part of the evidence, and five persons, including three women, had been arrested in connection with the case.

On the previous date, after brief arguments, the counsel for the accused had sought an adjournment, which the court disapproved, observing that a bail application could not be kept pending for long.

Saraswati was arrested from Agra on September 27 and brought to Delhi, where he was granted five-day custodial remand on September 28. The Patiala House Court later remanded him to 14-day judicial custody on October 3, which was extended on October 17.

The case pertains to allegations that Saraswati molested 17 girls at an educational institute in the Vasant Kunj area. He continues to remain in judicial custody pending his bail hearing.

His earlier plea seeking anticipatory bail in a separate case involving alleged financial irregularities was dismissed by the Patiala House Court.