Allahabad: Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the self-styled Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, moved the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday seeking anticipatory bail. This legal move comes after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him and his disciple, Mukundanand Brahmachari, at the Jhunsi police station in Prayagraj. The charges involve allegations of sexual abuse of two individuals, including a minor, over the past year.
The case was initiated following a direct order from a special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court in Prayagraj. The court acted on an application filed by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj and others, who alleged that the abuse occurred at a gurukul and during various religious events, including the 2026 Magh Mela. The FIR includes stringent sections of the POCSO Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), naming the seer, his disciple, and two or three unidentified individuals.
Responding to the allegations from his Vidya Math in Varanasi, Swami Avimukteshwaranand has categorically denied the charges, labeling them a “fabricated conspiracy.” He argued that the entire administrative and police system is being leveraged against him to force his withdrawal from a cow protection campaign. To support his claim of a setup, he presented a photograph showing a Prayagraj police officer celebrating with the complainant, Ashutosh Brahmachari.
The seer further pointed out that the police did not register the FIR on their own despite the sensitive nature of the POCSO allegations, acting only after the court’s intervention. He also noted that the Varanasi Development Authority recently surveyed his math, which he views as another form of institutional pressure. While his legal team has initiated the bail process by serving notice to the government advocate’s office, Swami Avimukteshwaranand stated he would continue his religious campaigns regardless of the legal proceedings.
