1. Karnataka HC grants conditional bail to Murugha mutt seer in sexual harassment case
The High Court of Karnataka has granted conditional bail to Shivamurthy Sharana, chief pontiff of Murugha mutt, in connection with the allegations of sexual harassment of minor girls. The HC granted bail in one of two cases against him with a direction that he should not enter Chitradurga district till conclusion of trial among other conditions.
In another case, the HC quashed a separate FIR registered against S.K. Basavarajan, former administrator of the mutt, and two witnesses in cases related to conspiracy against the seer. The court said that proceedings initiated on the complaint of in-charge seer, Basavaprabhu Swamiji, is a deliberate attempt calculated to derail the trial against the pontiff.