The High Court of Karnataka on Monday refused to quash the rape charge against Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, seer of Murugharajendra Bruhan Mutt, Chitradurga, in the case of alleged sexual assault on minor girls studying in the educational institutions run by the mutt.
The order of the Chitradurga special court for POCSO cases in framing charges under Section 376(2((n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly repeatedly raping the minor girls, and under Sections 4 and 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 for committing alleged sexual assault of varying degree, is sustainable, and the accused-seer will have to face trial for these offences, the High Court said.
