The remark came after State government through public prosecutor Hasan Mohammad Jinnah told single-judge Justice RN Manjula that when the court was hearing arguments on quashing of the first information report (FIR), the State had submitted that the chargesheet had already been filed by Crime Branch.
Shiv Sankar Baba’s counsel too admitted that the chargesheet had been filed.
Justice Manjula then said that such submission had escaped her attention somehow at the time.
“If I had known that the chargesheet was filed I would not have quashed it,” Justice Manjula said.
The Court said that it will verify from the records whether the chargesheet had been filed or not and directed Shiv Shankar Baba to file his counter affidavit in the meanwhile.
The matter will be heard next on November 15.
State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohammad Jinnah appeared for the State.
Advocate R Vijaya Kumar appeared for Shiva Sankar Baba.
The Court was hearing a plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government urging it to recall an order of October 17 quashing the FIR registered against Shiv Sankar Baba in a sexual harassment case.
The Court had quashed the FIR against the godman on the ground of a ‘technical flaw.’
Source: Barandbench
