Swami Nithyananda case: High court dismisses plea challenging charge sheet

The Karnataka high court today rejected a plea by self-styled godman Nithyananda for furnishing him a copy of the charge sheet filed against him by CID in connection with a rape case he faced.

Justice CR Kumaraswamy also dismissed an application by Nithyananda who had sought a direction to the CID not to file the charge sheet, on the ground that it has already been submitted before the jurisdictional magistrate.

The CID, which investigated the case, had filed the charge sheet on November 27 before the chief judicial magistrate at Ramanagara, charging Nithyananda with rape and unnatural sex and also against four of his associates for abetting the crime.

The CID today submitted a copy of the charge sheet before the high court and the counsel for Nithyananda pleaded that the court provide him a copy, which the judge rejected.

The judge directed the chief judicial magistrate to furnish a copy of the charge sheet to the accused and also Nithyananda's counsel to go through the procedure to get it.

The judge adjourned hearing of the criminal petition filed by Nithyananda praying for quashing of two FIRs lodged against him to December 7.

Nithyananda landed in a controversy after a purported video footage of him in a compromising position with an actress was aired on local Tamil channels. He was arrested in Himachal Pradesh on April 21.