Retired Justice Shah to mediate in group dispute of Swaminarayan sect

On Monday, hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by the Prabodh Swami group, the high court directed the two groups to submit the mediation report by June 13 after advocate Sudhir Nanavati, representing the Prem Swami group, informed the court that they were willing for the same. Earlier, Nanavati had informed the court on April 29 that the party was not keen on appointing an arbitrator in the case. However, during the hearing, the counsel of the Prabodh Swami group objected to Nanavati referring to Premswaroop Swami as the president of the trust.

Advocate Chitrajeet Upadhyaya, appearing for the Prabodh Swami group, the petitioning party, welcomed the decision of the rival faction to agree to appoint a mediator. “We had put forth the proposal for mediation before the high court… The suggestion was that a retired HC judge should be appointed and should remain present from the first meeting itself. The first meeting, however, would be held between four people through lawyers and if it does not work out, the retired judge will preside over the mediation. We had left it to the court to appoint a mediator and the HC suggested a few names. From among that list, Justice MS Shah was available and both parties agreed to the appointment.” Upadhyaya said the first meeting between the two parties and their lawyers will be held May 9 at the mediation centre in the HC, which will remain the venue for all mediation talks, even when Justice Shah presides over the meetings. “The court has asked the report to be submitted by June 13 and all the points and differences between the two parties have been kept open for mediation,” he said.

Advocate Nanavati, representing Premswaroop Swami, remained unavailable for comment Monday.

Hundreds of seers belonging to the Prabodh Swami group left the Sokhda premises on April 21 following a High Court directive to shift the male seers and devotees to the premises of the trust in Bakrol near Anand, and the female devotees and seers to Nirnaynagar Sant Niwas in Ahmedabad. The court has also directed Premswaroop Swami, JM Dave, and Tyagvallabh Swami to refrain from trying to visit the two premises or establishing contact with the seers and devotees evacuated from Sokhda. The order had come after the habeas corpus petition in the HC contended that hundreds of saints following Prabodh Swami were being held hostage in Sokhda by the rival group.

The conflict for control over the administration began following the demise of Hariprasad Swami in July 2021 when speculations on his successor gained momentum. The followers of Hariprasad Swami’s close aides Premswaroop Swami and Prabodh Swami—who were jointly appointed as custodians of the trust administration—have been at loggerheads for several months with cases of assault being reported from the campus between the warring groups.

More controversy erupted after seer Gunatit Charan Swami allegedly died by suicide in Sokhda temple premises on April 27. Vadodara district police, has begun a probe into the incident since the temple trust had “decided to pass off the suicide as a natural death and did not inform police”, Vadodara SP Rohan Anand had stated.