Madras High Court Recalls Order Quashing Sexual Harassment Case Against Godman Shiva Sankar Baba

The Madras High Court on Monday recalled its earlier order quashing a sexual harassment case against self-styled godman Shiva Sankar baba.

On October 17, Justice RN Manjula had allowed a quashing petition filed by Baba after observing that no application to condone the delay was filed along with the complaint under Section 473 of CrPC.

The case against Shiva Sankar Baba was that he had sexually harassed the de facto complainant when she visited the school to discuss about the sudden removal of her son from school. Based on her complaint, a case was lodged under Section 354 IPC and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act, 2002.

The offense was alleged to have been committed in 2010-2011, but the FIR was registered in 2021. Though the court found the allegations made by the complainant to be serious in nature, it said that in the absence of an application to condone the delay, the prosecution was time-barred.