HC asks Raghaveshwar Bharathi seer why he should fear about enquiry
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court questioned Ramachandrapur Mutt pontiff Raghaveshwar Bharathi why he is fearing or avoiding enquiry against him if he is not guilty.
A division bench, led by Chief Justice Abhay S Oka, noted that usually, it is politicians who avoid investigations. Why is the pontiff on the backfoot, the bench asked the advocate for the pontiff.
The court was hearing a writ appeal filed by Edarkula Eshwar Bhat and A K Jayakrishna seeking to set aside a single-judge bench order.
During the hearing, advocate for the appellants S S Naganand requested the bench that along with the writ appeal, a related public interest litigation shall be heard simultaneously.
Advocate for the mutt K G Raghavan objected to this and said both petitions shall not be heard simultaneously as the petition before the single-judge bench was filed by self-declared devotees and their intention was not good. If the bench entertains such elements in the court, many more petitions may be filed, he added.
The bench, however, directed that the both petitions will be heard simultaneously on December 16. The chief justice told the advocate for the mutt: “If the pontiff is not guilty, he can face the inquiry and come out clean.”