Bail plea of godman Saraswati adjourned

A Delhi court, while hearing the bail plea of self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, observed on Monday that the gravity of the offence had increased multifold because of the number of victims. Saraswati, who is currently in judicial custody, is accused of molesting 17 women students.

Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh adjourned the bail plea to October 27, observing that no grounds had been made out at this stage for the grant of statutory bail.

The defence counsel argued that Saraswati had been falsely implicated in the case and that a complaint was registered after the alleged victims were threatened and induced with warnings that their scholarships would be withdrawn.

During the hearing, the advocate for the private management institute stated that the matter came to light after an email from a female Air Force group captain regarding Saraswati’s alleged misconduct.

The investigating officer told the court that the WhatsApp chats of the complainants were not available due to the “disappearing messages” feature on their mobile phones.