JOIN USSelf-styled godman Nithyananda of Bidadi Jnana Peetha appeared before the JMFC court in Ramanagar on Monday in connection with the rape case in which he is the main accused.
Nithyananda and his five associates appeared before the court as per an order of the Supreme Court.
At the hearing, Nithyananda’s lawyers told the court that the Supreme Court would hear the matter on August 20 and requested the JMFC judge to conduct the hearing only after that. Accordingly, the JMFC court scheduled the next hearing for August 23.
On August 12, the Supreme Court had pulled up the Karnataka government for its failure to file a response to a petition by Nithyananda seeking quashing of a four-year-old rape case against him.
A bench of Justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and N V Ramana had reprimanded the State government for not filing an affidavit on Nithyananda’s petition.
“This is the last opportunity we are giving,” the court had said while adjourning the matter to August 20 with a direction that no further time would be granted to the government. The apex court had on August 4 stayed the Karnataka High Court’s order directing Nithyananda to undergo a potency test.