Chitradurga: Murugha Math seer surrenders before court

Chitradurga: Heeding to the directives of the Supreme Court, the pontiff of Murugharajendra Mutt in Chitradurga, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, surrendered at the local court on Monday, April 29.

The pontiff appeared before the First Additional District And Sessions Court here, on Monday afternoon, and surrendered himself.

On April 23, the Supreme Court instructed the pontiff to surrender within a week and stay in judicial custody until material witnesses were examined in a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and IPC.

The Karnataka High Court had granted bail to the pontiff on November 8, 2023. However, the Supreme Court suspended this order for four months.

The division bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prashant Kumar Mishra had instructed the trial court to examine material witnesses within four months and complete the proceedings within a year.