Court puts off ruling on seer's bail plea

The Madras High Court today reserved order on a bail application of Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi, arrested in connection with the murder of a temple official Sankararaman, even as the prosecution told the court that the scope of conspiracy extended beyond the killing.

Reserving his order after exhaustive arguments by counsel for the defence and the prosecution, Justice R Balasubramanian directed the public prosecutor to produce the case diary, along with judicial confessions and other materials, before him tomorrow afternoon.

Concluding his arguments on behalf of the prosecution, which opposed grant of bail to the Shankaracharya in the murder case, Supreme Court advocate KTS Tulsi said the scope of conspiracy went beyond the murder and did not end with it as claimed by the defence.

He said the "fake" surrenders in the case, allegedly at the behest of the seer, showed that conspiracy continued even after the murder.

Meanwhile, the principal sessions court posted to December 3 another plea for bail filed by the seer, who has been named an accused in a case of assault against a former temple employee Radhakrishnan about two years ago..

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today dismissed the charge that political or personal motives were behind the arrest of the Kanchi seer and said it was one of the "most painful decisions" in her political career "compelled by circumstances."

"All such allegations of political motives or personal motives deserved to be dismissed with utmost contempt," she said add-ing the arrest was not done at anyone's behest.

She rubbished charges that the arrest was a pre-emptive action. "Everyone is equal before the law. When the trial takes place, the truth will come out," she said.