HC dismisses plea against discharge of Sakshi Maharaj

PRAYAGRAJ : The Allahabad high court has dismissed the Uttar Pradesh government’s revision plea against the discharge of BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj by a trial court in an over two-decade-old kidnapping and rape case.

Special judge, Etah had passed the order, discharging Swami Sachchidanand Hari Sakshi ji Maharaj aka Sakshi Maharaj and others on November 26, 2001.

Justice Shamim Ahmed of the Allahabad high court upheld the discharge order on March 14 by taking into account the findings of the trial court that there was no evidence of the allegation of kidnapping, loot or rape against Sakshi Maharaj and the other accused. According to the FIR lodged at the Kotwali Nagar police station in Etah district in 2000, it was alleged that the MP and his associates kidnapped a woman (the informant) from a doctor’s clinic and raped her at an ashram. Several other allegations were also levelled against the accused, including obtaining a signature on an agreement.

The police submitted its charge sheet against all the accused under sections 376 (rape), 366 (kidnapping) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Thereafter, the accused filed an application with the request that they may be discharged from the charges framed against them. The trial court discharged the accused by the order dated November 26, 2001 after hearing the district government counsel (DGC criminal) and the counsel for the accused. The UP government challenged this order before the high court. The state government argued that the trial court committed an error of law by relying on the affidavit filed subsequently by the woman, which contradicted her earlier statements recorded under Sections 161 and 164 of the criminal procedure code (CrPC).

The high court observed that the woman had not produced any medical evidence about the allegation of assault and rape.

Even the allegation of kidnapping from the clinic was not found true, as the doctor denied such an incident taking place in his clinic, the court observed. The witnesses of the alleged kidnapping, who were produced by the police, did not name the accused.

There was no identification parade of the accused, nor any allegation was made specifically against Sakshi Maharaj, the court noted. Sakshi Maharaj was re-elected MP on the BJP ticket from Unnao in 2019.