The High Court of Karnataka has said that the police could not have registered a First Information Report (FIR) based on a counter-complaint lodged by Basavaprabhu Swami, in charge seer of Murugarajendra Bruhan Mutt, Chitradurga, alleging that some persons had conspired to tarnish the image of the Mutt and the seer Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, by coaxing two young girls to make unfounded allegations against the seer.
The court said that the complaint of Basavaprabhu Swami at best could be placed before the court, which is trying the two cases of sexual assault filed against the seer on the basis of the statement of the witnesses, to counter allegations made against the seer by the particular witnesses.
Justice R. Devdas passed the order while quashing the FIR registered against S.K. Basavarajan, a former administrator of the Mutt, his wife Sowbhaygya Basavarajan, and others on the allegation of criminal conspiracy, extortion, cheating, and inducing minor girls to have illicit intercourse with another person.
