The High Court of Karnataka on Friday directed the trial court in Chitradurga to defer till July 1 the trial against Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, head of Jagadguru Murugharajendra Brihan Mutt, Chitradurga, in the criminal case for sexually assaulting minor girls.
However, the High Court clarified that it had not stayed the trial but only asked the trial court to defer further proceedings against the petitioner till it examined the legality of inclusion of certain charges against the accused-seer in the charge sheet along with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the interim order on a petition filed by the seer challenging the legality of the charge sheet filed against him.
