Baba’s anticipatory bail plea dismissed

Chaitanyananda Saraswati, along with others, fraudulently created another trust, namely the Shri Sharda Institute of Management Research Foundation Trust, and funnelled all income of the institution into it, the prosecution told a Delhi court on Friday. It was alleged that once the trust was set up, Rs 20 crore in rent and other funds were diverted and misappropriated.

The police further alleged that Saraswati sublet properties, possessed two PAN cards and two passports and operated multiple bank accounts under different names. He also allegedly demanded Rs 1 crore from the complainant to secure the addition of a new course.

Patiala House Court Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur underscored the "nascent stage" of the investigation besides his custodial interrogation being required by the police to "establish the entire chain of fraud, cheating, conspiracy and misappropriation of funds". The court dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati in an alleged cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy case against him.

The court referred to the IO's contention that the accused was not available at his given address and his cellphone was switched off. The order took into account the "seriousness of allegations" and the "gravity" of the crime. The investigation so far, the court noted, showed creation of a fraudulent trust, namely 'Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research Foundation Trust', by Chaitanyananda "to disburse" the property of 'Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research' in the "fraudulent trust" created by him.

Senior advocate Ajay Burman, appearing for Saraswati, argued that an educational institution requires a trust to function and that not a single property had been sold. He said the institute continued to be managed by trustees, and the FIR was lodged in haste immediately after Saraswati travelled out of Delhi on July 19. Seeking interim protection from arrest, the defence told the court the accused was willing to join the investigation.

The prosecution strongly opposed the plea, asserting that Rs 30 crore is yet to be recovered. It alleged that Saraswati withdrew Rs 60 lakh after absconding and must be taken to several locations across states to trace the misappropriated money. Prosecutors insisted that granting interim protection would cripple recovery efforts. They said the irregularities came to light only after chartered accountant PA Murli, appointed by the institution, flagged the discrepancies.

The police also told the court that Saraswati falsely projected himself as a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council and a UN representative, terming it part of a deliberate pattern of deception.

The court said the accused vested a specific plot into the fraudulent trust and sublet the same without any approval or intimation to the authority concerned.

"Revenues and funds generated from plot number 7 were intended for the benefit of the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research and the peetham (Sri Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri), but the accused diverted these revenues and funds for his own benefit and criminally misappropriated the property and funds of the peetham," the order said.

The court noted the allegations that Chaitanyananda fabricated All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) records, and that he was also operating an account of Union Bank of India in two different names.

"At the time of opening of these accounts and transfer of accounts to another branch, different documents with different particulars were given. There are also serious allegations that the accused has withdrawn approximately Rs 50-55 lakh from the account of Yes Bank in the name of the trust after filing of the present FIR,” the court said.

The accused also allegedly forged documents, obtained two passports in different names and operated some bank accounts in different names, it noted. The court observed the subsequent invocation of Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) upon the realisation that the accused was also involved in criminal breach of trust.

The Vasant Kunj (north) police station registered an FIR against Chaitanyananda based on the complaint by PA Murli alleging that the Baba and others were involved in conspiracy, forgery, impersonation, cheating, fraud, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of properties and funds belonging to the peetham.

Murli said VR Gowrishankar was the then CEO and administrator of the peetham via a general power of attorney dated October 26, 1989, but the same was revoked, and the complainant was authorised to represent the peetham from March 2024 onward.

He claimed after taking over as the CEO, an audit revealed that the accused, along with others, defrauded and misappropriated the property and funds of the peetham. According to him, the peetham was also involved in various charitable, educational and social initiatives, and established an AICTE-approved institution, Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research in Vasant Kunj.

Murli alleged that the accused created a fraudulent trust named Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research Foundation Trust, as opposed to the actual 'Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research'. The accused further changed the name of the fraudulent trust to SRISIIM Research Foundation and also vested it with powers to disburse the property of the peetham, he added.