A special MP/MLA court in Shahjahanpur has issued a non-bailable warrant against former Union minister of state Swami Chinmayanand after he failed to surrender before the trial court despite the fact that a stay granted by the Supreme court in a 2011 rape case had lapsed.
Special MP/MLA judge Asma Sultana has also written to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shahjahanpur to arrest Chinmayanand and produce him before the court.
The next date of hearing in this case is December 9.
The case was filed in 2011 and a charge sheet was subsequently filed in the court in October 2012.
Public Prosecutor Neelima Saxena said that, “Accused Chinmayanand had approached the Supreme court to get relief in this case as the Allahabad High Court had refused to quash the case by accepting a withdrawal application of the complainant.”
The apex court said that it is not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgement and order passed by the high court, but Chinmayanand was given time to surrender till November 30.
On December 1, his counsel appeared in the court and requested to extend his stay as he has applied for a regular bail in the high court.
Since his stay was over, the court issued a non-bailable warrant and directed the SSP to arrest him.
Trial proceedings of this case never started following the Allahabad High Court’s stay order.
In 2018, the Yogi government decided to withdraw the case against him and filed an application before the court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) under section 321 of CrPC.
The application was rejected by the CJM after the rape survivor filed an ‘objection’.