The Hindu : National : `Too early to grant bail to Acharya'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 30, 2004

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National

`Too early to grant bail to Acharya'

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, NOV. 29. The Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, arrested in connection with the Sankararaman murder case, cannot be granted bail now as the charge is too serious and the case is at a very early stage, the prosecution submitted before the Madras High Court today.

Contesting the Acharya's bail plea, senior counsel K.T.S. Tulsi said: "We have two direct witnesses who were present when the key accused met the Sankaracharya at the Mutt. We do not want to expose their identity lest they would be in danger." According to him, while one person has given statements to the police under Section 161 of CrPC, the other has gone further and got his statements recorded by a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC. "If their identity is known, pressure and temptation on them will be too high to resist," he said.

Claiming that the defence arguments that the Acharya did not use any cell phone exclusively were at variance with the Acharya's stand, senior counsel said the Acharya had accepted that it was his cell phone and that he spoke to the accused persons. "He made the statements voluntarily, and seems to be realising his mistake," Mr. Tulsi added.

`Significant leads'

The legal materials collected so far, including completed phone calls, transfer of money for the hirelings and the recovery of a letter written by the deceased, had all been fortified with further progress in the investigation, counsel said. "We have got significant leads in the course of the interrogation. It is stronger than it was 10 days ago. At this stage, how can the defence expect the court to reverse its earlier order only on the facts that a confession had now been retracted."

Stating that the confession of Kathiravan "had a ring of truth in it," Mr. Tulsi said that immediately after the murder he went to a nearby telephone booth and made a call to the Mutt. "His confession in this regard has been corroborated by the recovery of the phone details from the booth."

Referring to the Acharya's statements about Sankararaman's "obnoxious" attitude towards the Mutt, Mr. Tulsi said there were no two opinions about the motive for the crime. The deceased had filed a writ petition alleging that out of the 100 kg of gold imported for making a temple chariot only 35 kg had been accounted for by the Mutt. He was also against the Mutt creating several Trusts engaged in commercial activities and the extravagant life led by the relatives of the Acharyas. According to Mr. Tulsi, it showed the "bitter enmity between the accused and the deceased."

He said: "We have collected substantial materials in the course of investigation. We are going to translate the available evidence into legally tenable materials."

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