The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a contempt petition filed by an advocate against the Kerala police for not registering an FIR against the Mata Amritanandamayi Math after a former inmate wrote a book alleging sexual abuse at the math.
A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Madan B. Lokur dismissed the plea after K.K. Venugopal, appearing for Kerala, submitted that no cognisance could be taken on the basis of statements made in the book ( Holy Hell ).
In his contempt petition, Deepak Prakash alleged that the “rape” happened in a religious place and the victim was a foreign national. He said he had lodged a complaint with the police after the victim sent him a mail corroborating the averments in the book for registration of an FIR. Mr. Prakash said the Karunagappally police on February 26 refused to register an FIR. He said he forwarded the complaint to the Police Commissioner and the DGP for immediate action.
Political pressureHe said: “Unfortunately, because of political pressure, till date, no action has been taken. This amounts to collapse of law and order and violation of the apex court judgment in the Lalita Kumar case, in which the court mandated registration of FIR on receipt of complaint.” The petitioner said the police was duty-bound to register an FIR and investigate the matter.
Contempt proceedingsThe petitioner wanted the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings against Justin John, SHO, Karunagappally police station, Kollam; Debesh Kumar Behera, Kollam Police Commissioner; DGP K.S. Balasubramaian, and Principal Home Secretary L. Radhakrishnan.
Mr. Prakash said: “It is true that she has revealed her bad experience through her book and even after 15 years, the revelations amount to a clear case of rape in captivity. When the media asked her about the delay, the victim had said that it took years for her to overcome the mental trauma and write a book on the ordeal . Moreover, the Indian judicial system takes many years to complete the legal procedures.”
