Karnataka High Court stays proceedings against Murugha seer in Chitradurga court

Bengaluru: The high court on Tuesday issued an order staying all further proceedings in the two cases registered under the provisions of Pocso Act against Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the pontiff of Sri Jagadguru Murugharajendra Bruhanmutt, Chitradurga.

While doing so, the high court also pulled up the trial court at Chitradurga terming its action as one bordering contempt of court.

Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order of stay while reserving the judgement in four petitions filed by the pontiff.

In his order, Justice Nagaprasanna has directed the Registry to secure all the files relating to the case from the trial court. The court has expressed shock on the notice issued by the Presiding Officer (trial court judge) to the jailor as to how he released the accused pontiff by following the order of the high court, notwithstanding the order of the Presiding Officer issuing body warrant. The trial court had also issued a direction for initiation of a departmental enquiry against the jailor for having implemented the orders of the high court.

“It is the orders passed by the high court that are disobeyed in a manner that would become contempt of the orders passed by the high court on the face of it. In what trial the Presiding Officer wanted to summon the accused is still a mystery, as trials in all the cases are directed to be deferred till the disposal of the petitions and there is a condition in the grant of bail that the accused shall not enter the jurisdiction of the court. These two orders are thrown to the winds by the presiding officer, in an act which is on the face of it subversive of judicial discipline,” the court said.

The court further said, “To sensationalise a sensational issue should not become the order of the day, particularly of the concerned courts hearing such cases. The courts are trite governed by constitutional morality and not public morality. This principle is also given a go-bye by the Presiding Officer which appears to be in an attempt to remain in the limelight of a sensational issue.”

The court has also noted that all this was triggered by a frivolous memo filed by the Special Public Prosecutor appearing in the case. “The State Public Prosecutor therefore, shall enquire about the bonafides of the Special Public Prosecutor, his conduct in filing a memo, completely contrary to the orders passed by this court and that of the Co-ordinate Bench and fix accountability,” the court said.

The pontiff was released from the prison on November 16, after the high court granted him bail on November 8. On November 20, he was taken into custody, on the ground of failure to attend the court hearing in the second case. The high court had ordered his immediate release on November 20, 2023.