The Supreme Court has rejected the bail of Anand Giri, who was arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of his guru and Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad president Narendra Giri.
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A Bench comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and Ahsanuddin Amanullah upheld the order of the Allahabad High Court, saying there was no reason to interfere with the impugned order at this stage.
"Heard senior counsel for the petitioner as also Additional Solicitor General for the respondent(s) and we have perused the petition papers as also the impugned order. Having heard them for some time, we see no reason to interfere with the impugned order at this stage," the Bench said.
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The top court, however, made it clear that if there is a change in circumstance or if there is no progress in the matter before the trial court for reasonable time, it would be open for the petitioner to renew his prayer for bail before the trial court.
"If such application is filed at that stage, the present proceedings shall not be treated as impediment to consider the application in accordance with law," it said.
Mr. Anand had moved the top court against the September 9, 2022 order of the High Court which had refused him bail saying there was sufficient evidence against the applicant and thus he cannot be granted bail.
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The petitioner, in his bail application, had stated that he was falsely implicated in the case.
The hand writing in the alleged suicide note, in which Anand Giri’s name was mentioned, was not of Narendra Giri and there were several cuttings and overwriting in it, the petitioner claimed.
He further argued that he was in Haridwar when the incident took place and police informed him over phone.
Earlier, a local court too had rejected the bail application of Anand Giri.
Mahant Narendra Giri was found hanging from the ceiling fan in Baghambari Gaddi Math in Prayagraj on September 20, 2021. A suicide note was recovered, in which he had accused Anand Giri, Aadya Tiwari and Sandeep Tiwari of mental torture.