The Hindu : Front Page : Kanchi Acharya out on bail, to stay in Kalavai

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Wednesday, Jan 12, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Kanchi Acharya out on bail, to stay in Kalavai

By P.V.V. Murthi

The Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, arrives at Kalavai village on Tuesday, after his release from the Vellore Central Prison. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

VELLORE, JAN. 11. A full two months after his arrest and a day after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the Sankararaman murder case, the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, walked out of the Vellore Central Prison at 4.30 p.m. today. He was arrested at Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh on November 11 last and remanded to custody the next day.

Intense activity

There was intense activity here from the morning as the Acharya's devotees and followers of the Sankara Mutt started assembling near the central prison, expecting his release. As the Acharya's lawyers had to complete the legal processes and secure the release order from the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Chengalpattu after producing the sureties and surrendering his passport, it was 2.50 p.m. when they arrived here.

BJP, VHP leaders welcome Acharya

The Acharya emerged from the prison to chants of "Hara Hara Sankara, Jaya Jaya Sankara" and cheers from his devotees and well-wishers. A Bharatiya Janata Party delegation, led by the former Union Ministers, Sushma Swaraj and S. Thirunavukkarsar, the international president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Ashok Singhal, its vice-president, S. Vedantham, and the State president of the Janata Party, Chandralekha, were among those who received Sri Jayendra Saraswathi and sought his blessings.

After spending a few minutes with them and acknowledging the greetings of devotees, the Acharya boarded the yellow van of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam and left for Kalavai, about 50 km from Vellore.

At Kalavai, he was given a warm and reverential reception as he entered the `Brindavanam' of the 66th and 67th Acharyas. Many women devotees performed `aarti.'

Performs puja

Later, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi performed the Chandramouleeswara puja; the deity was brought to Kalavai earlier in the day from Kancheepuram. The junior Acharya, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, had performed the puja till his arrest on Monday evening.

There was some tension in the afternoon after rumours of a possible third case being slapped on the senior Acharya and his imminent re-arrest. But his advocates informed the Mutt functionaries that an anticipatory bail petition had been moved and would be taken up for hearing on Wednesday.

Sushma's charge

Ms. Swaraj said the arrest of Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi was the "height of persecution."

Talking to newspersons in the foreground of the Central Prison where she had come to receive the blessings of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, she said that only six days ago the Tamil Nadu police had said that there was no need to summon the junior Acharya for investigation. "What has changed since then," she asked.

She said the only change was that the highest court of the land had granted bail to the elder swamiji and this hurt the prestige of the Tamil Nadu police.

Ms. Swaraj said she would like to tell those who said that the law would take its course, to witness for themselves how "the law does not take its own course but take Jayalalithaa's course."

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