Former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand was offered flowers by supporters as he walked out of prison on Wednesday, two days after being granted bail in the case in which he is accused of sexually abusing a law student.
Mr.Chinmayanand, 72, was released from the Shahjahanpur district jail after the completion of legal formalities, prison superintendent Rakesh Kumar told PTI.
The Allahabad High Court had granted him bail on Monday. But he was not released earlier as the bail papers had not reached the jail.
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While granting him bail, Justice Rahul Chaturvedi also transferred Mr. Chinmayanand’s trial from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow, taking note of the victim’s apprehension that he could influence proceedings in his hometown.
The bail order directed Mr. Chinmayanand to file an undertaking that he would not seek any adjournments and be present in court.
Outside the Shahjahanpur jail, Mr. Chinmayanand’s supporters waited for him with flowers. He was then driven to his ashram, where he offered prayers before leaving for his home.
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Justice Chaturvedi had also directed Lucknow’s Senior Superintendent of Police, to depute a senior sub inspector and armed constables for the security of the student and her family members during the trial period.
Charge against Swami
Mr. Chinmayanand, whose trust runs the Shahjahanpur law college where the woman studied, was arrested on September 20 under Section 376-C of the IPC, a charge short of rape. It is applied when someone in authority takes advantage of his official position to “induce or seduce” a woman to have sex with him.
In a parallel case, the woman was arrested for trying to extort money from Mr. Chinmayanand, whom she had accused of rape.