Trial by fire

by Dina Nath Mishra

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has shown unprecedented contempt, even after the highest court of the country granted bail to the Kanchi Kamkoti Peetham Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati in the Shankararaman murder case.

Within four hours, she got the junior Shankaracharya Vijayendra Saraswati arrested in the same case on similar charges without adducing fresh evidence. What is her message through this arrest? That she is not bothered about the judicial wisdom of the Supreme Court? Jayalalitha's Government even filed an application with the Supreme Court praying the Shankaracharya be confined to north India to prevent him tampering with evidence.

Her application stated that "if the Acharya was permitted to stay in any of the four southern States, he would be in position not only to tamper with evidence, such as bank records and accounts of the Mutt, but also threaten witnesses and compel them to refrain from speaking the truth".

The bank accounts of Peeth and various accounts connected with the Mutt have been sealed. The local courts have disposed off Shankaracharya's anticipatory bail plea in another case after the prosecution said that the Government would not arrest Jayendra Saraswati till January 20, 2005. In other words, she has threatened Jayendra Saraswati with staying in North India or else be arrested on the 20th January midnight, irrespective of the Supreme Court's stand.

In another petition, the Tamil Nadu Government has also sought deletion of a certain portion of the judgment saying it may influence the trial. The fact is that the Supreme Court has made it clear that its observations are confined strictly to the bail petition. This is the height of Jayalalithaa's belligerence.

It is now clear that Jayalalithaa is hell bent on fixing the Mutt and the Shankaracharya. Numerous stories have been planted and fake confessions circulated to deface Hinduism. Anti-Hindutva elements have celebrated each fabricated episode in the media. Juicy sex too has been injected to denigrate the pontiff of Hindus.

All legal efforts made by Shankaracharya up to the State-level failed for obvious reasons. Who would dare to challenge the might of the State in Tamil Nadu?

The Supreme Court while granting bail to Shankaracharya has observed, "No worthwhile prima-facie evidence apart from the alleged confessions have been brought to our notice to show that the petitioner (Kanchi Acharya) along with A-2 (Ravi Subramaniam) and A-4 (Kathiravan) was party to a conspiracy. The involvement of the petitioner and A-2 and A-4 in the alleged conspiracy is sought to be established by the confessions themselves..... Recovery of Sankararaman letters do not prove these were received by Kanchi Acharya or brought to his notice.... No evidence collected in investigation that Acharya protested or acted against Shankararaman.... No documents of account in ICICI bank produced.... Statement of account in Indian Bank shows Rs 50 lakh received in cash on 30.04.2004 was deposited in Bank on 7.5.2004. This belies prosecution case that cash was retained by petitioner to pay hirelings.... There should first be prima facie evidence that a person was party to a conspiracy before his acts or statements can be used against his conspirators."

Sixty days of media trial against Kanchi Kamkoti Peetham Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, has already damaged the great reputation of the oldest Mutt established by Adi-Shankaracharya himself.

Prosecutors including Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa have tried to establish the conspiracy of murder of Shankararaman against Shankaracharya by high-sounding clichés like 'clinching evidence', 'credible evidence' and 'direct link' with the crime.

Naturally, the feelings of Hindu society in general and followers of the Mutt in particular are badly hurt. Most of the people concerned were in the state of siege. Sadhus all along the country protested, offered prayers at thousands of places for Jayendra Saraswati Swami.

The arrest of Shankaracharya raises several questions regarding our jurisprudence, limitless powers of prosecution and the freedom of media-trial before which the highest have become vulnerable, leave alone the weak and the common man. It is time clear norms are laid down to effect pre-trial arrests only in cases of hard-core criminal and terrorists. It is horrifying to think about the lakhs of undertrials languishing in jails for years while their trials drag on.