Prayagraj, March 25 The Allahabad High Court granted anticipatory bail to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and his disciple, Mukundanand Brahmachari, in a case registered against them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The order was passed by Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha in response to the anticipatory bail applications filed by the seer and his disciple.
Earlier, on February 27, the court had stayed the arrest of Avimukteshwaranand, directing that he would not be taken into custody until the order in the matter related to alleged sexual harassment of minor children and other offenses was pronounced.
The court had also reserved its order after hearing the matter and directed the applicants to cooperate with the investigation.
The case pertains to an FIR lodged at the Jhunsi police station in Prayagraj, following directions from a POCSO court, alleging that the accused sexually exploited several "batuks" (young disciples).