Former BJP Minister Swami Chinmayanand was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in the case of alleged sexual exploitation of a law student of his college in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Among other offences, Mr. Chinmayanand is accused of misusing his authority to seduce or induce the student into having sexual intercourse with him.
The student who made the allegations against him was granted bail in December in a case of extortion filed against her by Mr. Chinmayanand.
A Bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi granted bail to Mr. Chinmayanand on his furnishing a personal bond and “two heavy sureties of the like amount...”
The court directed that the trial of both cases be transferred from Shahjahanpur to a Lucknow court. “...the court concerned at Lucknow is directed to take up both cases on a priority basis, if possible on a day-to-day basis,” the court said.
The Lucknow police chief was directed to ensure the security and safety of the student, her family and witnesses during the entire trial period by deputing an officer of the rank of Senior Sub-Inspector and armed constables, the court said.
The court said, “At this stage, it is very difficult to adjudicate as to who exploited whom. In fact, both of them used each other.” “...At this juncture, this court draws its conclusion that it was a complete matter of quid pro quo, but over a span of time, with the greed for extracting “more”, she, along with her accomplices, seems to have advanced for hatching a conspiracy against the applicant [Mr. Chinmayanand] and tried to blackmail him for ransom, through the video clips recorded by herself.”
The court said that since the chargesheet had already been filed and the magistrate had already taken cognizance of the offences, there was no chance of any tampering with evidence.
It said the student had already been granted bail, so “there is no justifiable reason to deny bail to the present applicant: Chinmayanand.”
