Karnataka HC allows Murugha Mutt Seer to sign cheques from prison
Bengaluru, Sept 30: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday allowed chief pontiff of Murugha Math Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, facing a case of sexual assault on minor girls, to sign cheques from jail.
The Seer has been in custody since September 1 in a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) case. The cheques were for payment of monthly salaries for the employees of the math and educational institutions run by it.
Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed the plea filed by the Seer and ordered that cheques be allowed to be signed on October 3, 6 and 10. The permission of the deputy commissioner has to be obtained by the person who would carry the cheques. The signing of the cheques would be done in the presence of the investigating officer in the case and the jail authorities.
Photocopies of the cheques thus signed would be submitted to the trial court hearing the case, the High Court said. The High Court made it clear that the signing of the cheques is being allowed only for the month of October.
The Seer has to make an application to the trial court seeking permission to transfer the cheque signing authority through a general power of attorney to another person. The trial court would consider this request and issue orders.
In his plea, the Seer claimed he was the only trustee of the math's trust and salaries have to be paid to over 3,000 employees of the over 150 institutions under it. The High Court had said there was lack of clarity in the request of the Seer to sign around 200 cheques from the prison, as all the cheques had the payable details mentioned as Self RTGS" (real time gross settlement).
State public prosecutor 1 Kiran Javali has told the court that prima facie the submissions made by the accused did not seem bona fide. He requested the court to transfer the plea to the Sessions Court in Chitradurga for disposal on merit.
The High Court had said it was improper to request for self-addressed cheques to be signed by the accused in prison. Earlier, a similar request was made by the Seer before the Second Additional Sessions Judge BK Komala in Chitradurga where the POCSO case is pending. The judge rejected the request. So, the seer approached the High Court with the same plea.
The chief pontiff has also been charged under the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
