The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday asked the advocate representing Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, seer and president of Sri Jagadguru Murugarajendra Brihan Mutt, to give clarity and proper material on his plea seeking direction to the prison authorities to permit him to affix signatures to cheques and related documents for disbursement of salaries.
Orally observing that a memo, filed by an advocate representing the seer, does not inspire confidence, Justice Nagaprasanna asked the advocate to place proper details while adjourning the hearing on the seer’s petition till September 30. The court also indicated that it may have to ask the sessions court in Chitradurga to examine these materials and consider the plea for allowing him to affix signature in prison.
The court on Wednesday directed the seer to file a memo giving particulars of documents and cheques to be signed and explain how he was disbursing salaries to the employees of the mutt and its educational institutions in the usual course before his arrest as his counsel had said that he has to sign around 200 cheques and related documents for disbursement of salaries to more than 3,500 employees.
1,188 cheques
However, from the memo filed on Thursday, the court found “self-salary”, “self-RTGS” written on the cheques signed by the seer prior to his arrest and wondered how amounts can be withdrawn to “self” to pay salaries.
Also, the memo has listed 1,188 cheques to be signed by the seer for payment of August and September months’ salary and other expenses while listing that he had presented around 900 cheques in June and July.
Meanwhile, the memo has sought permission from the court to allow him to execute special power of attorney in favour of authorised persons to mitigate further complication in administration of the mutt and other institutes.
