The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : High Court directs pontiff to hand over boy to his mother

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 23, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

High Court directs pontiff to hand over boy to his mother

Staff Reporter

Seer was charged with forcibly initiated him into `sanyas'

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the senior pontiff of Srimadvyasaraja Mutt (Kundapur Vyasaraja Mutt), Lakshmeendra Theertha Sreepadangalu, to forthwith hand over the custody of Srihari, the junior pontiff, to his mother.

The court allowed a habeas corpus petition by A.S. Sridevi of Hanumanthnagar in Bangalore, seeking a direction to the police to produce Srihari, her minor son, who, she said, had been forcibly taken away by the senior pontiff and administered "sanyas".

A Division Bench comprising Justice B. Padmaraj and Justice V. Jagannathan ordered that the custody of the child be given to the mother and if possible, during the course of the day itself.

In her petition, Sridevi, claimed that she and her husband, A.M. Sridharamurthy, along with their two children — a boy and a girl — were staying in the quarters of the mutt in Hanumanthnagar.

She said her husband had worked as the Diwan of the mutt for the last 22 years and they were totally dependant on the mutt for their sustenance.

Idea resisted

She said the senior pontiff had told them that he wanted to initiate Srihari into "sanyas" and that they had resisted the idea. On June 21, 2004, when Ms. Sridevi and her husband were asleep in the mutt quarters, the senior pontiff took Srihari to Kantavare in Udupi district.

The senior pontiff later told them that on June 22 he had initiated Srihari into "sanyas". On June 26, when Ms. Sridevi and her husband approached the senior pontiff and requested him to hand over their son he allegedly threatened them and asked them to sign some papers.

Complaint

She said the Hanumanthnagar police did not register a complaint when they sought to file one against the senior pontiff who, however, filed a suit in the Sessions Court of Bangalore praying for a permanent decree and a perpetual injunction against Ms. Sridevi, her husband and others from interfering in the "dharmic" affairs of the mutt and restraining them from taking back the boy.

She said forcible initiation into "sanyas" was illegal and arbitrary and urged the court to direct the police to produce her son. She also sought police protection.

The pontiff claimed that the child was now the junior seer in the mutt and that he had taken to a spiritual life.

The Bench observed that in cases relating to the custody of the minor children what was of utmost importance was not the rights of the parties but the welfare of the minor.

It directed the police to ensure that the child was handed over to the custody of the mother.

It asked the parties to consider as paramount the interests of the child and hoped that they would not do anything to affect the child's interests in any manner.

It said it was open for the senior pontiff to establish his legal rights before an appropriate forum for the custody of the child.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka