Society's gullibility comes in handy for fake Godmen: Madras High Court while dismissing bail plea by Siva Shankar Baba in POCSO case

The Madras High Court on Tuesday lamented about the rise of fake godmen while dismissing two bail petitions by spiritual teacher, CN Siva Shankaran, also known as Siva Shankar Baba, who was arrested in connection with allegations of having sexually harassed students in a school founded by him. (CN Siva Shankaran v. The State)

On an overall consideration of the material on record and the statements of the victims, Justice M Dhandapani said that it would neither be in the interest of the investigation nor the victims to enlarge Siva Shankar Babu on bail.

The Judge added that the State's apprehension that Siva Shankar Babu would influence the victims and witnesses if released on bail cannot be brushed aside lightly given that he is a with a godman with a large following.

This was in addition to the Court's opinion that there was a prima facie case made out against Siva Shankar.

In its order, the Court has also made several observations on the mushrooming of fake spiritual gurus and self-styled godmen.

The Court remarked that, of late, "our society has been a hapless witness to the mushrooming of self-styled Godmen and Gurus who hold out promises of deliverance or salvation to the people who look upon them for answers for all their inner struggles, who are being driven to the point of despair and despondency."

The society's collective gullibility in matters of faith comes in handy for the fake godmen and so-called spiritual gurus for exploitation to the hilt, the Court went on to comment.

Many become victims of their own blind faith, the judge said, adding that society needs to guard against attempts by such gurus to exploit the emotional dependence of people on external agencies or forces.

"The reverential faith reposed in such spurious Gurus by their multitude of minions stand betrayed at the eventual exposure of their wickedness hid(den) behind the mask of spirituality. Ultimately, these struggles and the trepidation of the followers whether find answers or not, perfidious spiritual Gurus, invariably end up exponentially successful in aggrandizement of their wealth, power and influence, which has a cascading detrimental effect on the common man," the Judge observed.

Case background

Three cases have been registered against Shankar by former students of the Sushil Hari International Residential School, who have alleged that he behaved inappropriately with them.

Shankar was arrested from Delhi in June this year and eventually remanded to judicial custody. He is presently lodged at Central Prison, Puzhal, Chennai.

The cases registered against him cite the offences under Sections 354, 363, 366 and 109 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002 and Section 8, 10, 12 r/w 17 of the Protection of Child from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).

Shankar has denied the allegations. During the course of the bail hearing, Shankar's counsel argued that the allegations were not genuine, that they were motivated by vested interests and that the State had acted to defeat his right to default bail.

To buttress the contention with respect to default bail, Shankar's counsel pointed out that he was arrested in the first case in June, and that his arrest in the other two cases was only recorded a month later, in July. The Court, however, declined to entertain the argument for the present since the prescribed mandatory period for getting default bail (60 days without chargesheet being filed) had not elapsed as of yet. The Court recorded that Shankar has spent 57 days in incarceration so far.

An additional contention was that the 73-year old petitioner had suffered three cardiac arrests. On this medical ground as well, the Court was urged to grant bail.

The State asserted that the allegations against the petitioner are so grave that they warrant an in-depth investigation. The victims have categorically spoken about the alleged perverted acts of the petitioner, the State argued.

Shankar, being a person with rich influence, it is possible that he may influence witnesses and threaten the victims, the Court was told further. The State added that the petitioner's medical condition could not be the sole ground for grant of bail. It was argued that the medical condition could be an additional factor to consider only if a prima facie case is made out by the petitioner for grant of bail.

In cases of this nature, women may be reluctant to register complaint fearing castigation from society: Court

Among other observations, the Court also declined to accept Shankar's contention that the allegations were not genuine since the complaint was delayed.

"It is to be pointed out that in cases of this nature, the women folk do not come out with the sufferings that were meted out to them physically for the fear of society castigating them should also not be lost sight of. Though the delay in the complaint should also be an angle in which the investigating agency requires to probe into the matter as it cannot be said that the complaint would always be genuine and vested interests are ruled out, but delay alone cannot form the basis for negating the complaint as the societal impact on such complaints should also be kept in mind while dealing with the matter," the Court said.

On the "mushrooming" of self-styled godmen

The case prompted the Judge to raise concern over the rise of self-styled godmen who are ill-motivated.

Justice Dhandapani expressed shock over the manner in which the common man is being brainwashed by such persons, "who, under the guise of spiritual awakening and intellectual liberation, commit perverted acts on the women folk, as is alleged in the present complaints"

The Court lamented that such self-styled godmen, with the support of their aides and followers "who fall prey", also makes others "yield to the evil minded acts of such persons." This, in turn, has marred the name of genuine spiritual persons as well, the Court said.

"The act of such persons, both godman and teachers, has boomeranged to such an extent that the once noted noble profession of teachers and the divine position of godman are belittled by unscrupulous persons and the truly genuine spiritual souls have been placed under a scanner, thereby demeaning their status. The political and money power also acts as a catalyst in these persons crystallizing their evil intentions and yet maintaining their social status only due to the tendency of the common man, who, without due diligence to their intellect and intelligence fall at the feet of such persons to gain spiritual salvation and intellectual emancipation", stated the order.

Gravity of alleged crime greater since accused is not only a godman but also a teacher: Court

Justice Dhandapani observed that this is an example of how the alleged perverted acts of a self-styled godman has created havoc in society. The allegation, in this case, was that Shankar was involved in perverted acts against his devotees, who are none other than his students, in the spiritual arena, the Court noted.

The deparavity of the alleged crime is more so since Shankar is revered not only as a godman but also as a techer, the Court said. The yardstick for evaluating the gravity of the crime should be how the collective conscience of society would view it, the Judge opined.

"The act has been perpetrated against young children, who were left at the divine abode for the purpose of gaining spiritual and intellectual salvation, but only to be pestered with the alleged ever groping alleged sexual attacks of the petitioner, which has had a telling effect, both physically and psychologically on the minds of the tender kids. In such a background of facts, entertaining the prayer of the petitioner would not be in the interest of justice," the Court concluded.

Advocate A Ramesh, M/s Gupta & Ravi represented Siva Shankar Babu, whereas government advocate (criminal side) CE Pratap appeared for the State.

[Read Order]