The Bench, comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamadar and Justice S. Manu, also nullified an earlier directive from a single judge, which had instructed the magistrate to issue an order for registering an FIR on the complaint.
The High Court had in February vacated the stay granted by it earlier on the trial proceedings against the actor, after the woman denied the claims that she agreed to an out-of-court settlement.
Eldhose Kunnappilly, informed the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) leadership, which had sought an explanation from him that he was innocent and the case was fabricated. The MLA has stated that the case was politically motivated.
Rejecting the plea, a Single bench of Justice Ziyad Rahman AA said the survivor might be ‘influenced’ by the ongoing ‘media trial’ in the case.
However, based on a sketch, a man has been detained on suspicion of being the accused in the case.
In 2013, when he was the editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine, Tejpal was accused of raping a female colleague in the elevator of a five-star hotel.
The CBI took over the investigation and filed the case against Maharaj on charges of raping and having unnatural sex with an inmate of his ashram.
It said the FIR against him has been registered for alleged heinous offences of rape, unnatural sex, molestation and common intention under the IPC.
