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Self-styled godman Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati withdraws bail plea in molestation case 

Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, accused of molesting 16 female students of a Delhi institute, has withdrawn his bail plea.

He remains in custody amid parallel investigations into alleged fund misappropriation.Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati withdrew his bail plea in a molestation case involving 16 students, choosing to await the Delhi Police chargesheet. (File Photo)

Self-styled godman Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati on Friday withdrew his bail plea before a Delhi court in a molestation case lodged against him. Chaitanyananda, accused of molesting 16 female students, is currently in judicial custody.

He told the court that he would wait for the Delhi Police to file a chargesheet in the case.“We are withdrawing the bail plea as we want to wait for the chargesheet in the matter to be filed to examine the allegations,” senior Advocate Ajay Burman, who appeared for Swami, told the court.

Chaitanyananda had served as the chancellor of Vasant Kunj-based Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management-Research, run by Sri Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham in Karnataka’s Sringeri. He has been accused of molestation by the students of the institute.

His bail plea has been withdrawn after Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh of Patiala House Court last month underlined that the gravity of offence allegedly committed by him had increased multifold because of the large number of victims in the case.

Meanwhile, in a status report submitted by the Delhi Police, the court was informed that most of the eyewitnesses in the case had been examined but they were yet to gain access to the iPad of the accused.

Chaitanyananda was arrested from a hotel in Agra on September 28. The arrest followed allegations levelled by the students that he made “unwanted physical contact” with them.

According to the FIR lodged in the case, he allegedly forced female students to visit his quarter late at night, sent them inappropriate text messages at odd hours and also allegedly tracked their movements through his phone.

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On the other hand, Swami had alleged in his bail plea that the complainants had been tutored and had framed him because he enforced strict discipline at the institute. He had also claimed that he had no direct interaction with the students.

Another FIR over alleged embezzlement and misappropriation of funds totalling Rs 20 crore was lodged against him on July 25 based on a complaint from the religious body that runs the private institute.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.  2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More

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