Bengaluru: Raghaveshwara Bharathi, the head of Ramachandrapura Mutt who has been booked for raping a woman devotee, must compulsorily undergo a medical test, both the Union and State governments told the High Court on Wednesday. The State government has filed an appeal for permission to subject the seer to a medical test.
Assistant Solicitor General (ASG), Krishna Dixit, who appeared before the court as the Union government has been impleaded in the matter, categorically stated that the seer must undergo a medical test as per Section 53(A) of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
The seer has contended that the medical test—the CrPC allows extraction of body fluids—is a violation of Articles 20 (3) and 21 of the Constitution of India. Article 20 (3) says no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself while Article 21 envisages protection of life and personal liberty. Challenging the validity of the CrPC, his counsel had stated that the body fluid would be obtained by force, which was “nothing but torture”.
On the demand that the accused be informed about the medical test he would undergo, Dixit said that could not be done as the accused might consume some kind of drugs before subjecting himself to the test and might defeat the purpose of the test.
Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar also contended that medical examination was a must in this case. On the seer’s contention that he should be informed about the test he would undergo, the advocate general said that the medical test was the discretion of the medical officer who would determine the kind of test to be done. Justice A N Venugopala Gowda adjourned the hearing after the counsel for the seer sought more time to file objections.
