Sexual Abuse Case: Bail Granted to Chinmayananda

Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court today granted bail to former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand, accused of sexually abusing a law student.

Justice Rahul Chaturvedi issued the bail order on the plea filed by the BJP leader. On November 16, the court had reserved its order after hearing the counsels from both sides. Chinmayanand, whose trust runs the Shahjahanpur law college where the woman studied, was arrested on September 20 under section 376-C of the IPC, a charge short of rape.

It is applied when someone in authority takes advantage of his official position to induce or seduce a woman to have sex with him. In a parallel case, the woman was charged with trying to extort money from Chinmayanand, whom she had accused of rape. The high court granted her bail on December 4.