Children in Nithyananda Ashram produced before the Gujarat High Court

In yet another hearing of Nithyananda case, there are four more parents who have come forward and filed Habeas Corpuses and stated their grievances that the Gujarat Police is keeping the children against their will and not letting the children also meet their parents. The parents and children were as follows - Girish Turlapati father of Natanga Turlapati (14), Satish Selvakumar father of Prisha Satish(16), Anil Kumar father of Bhuvan Pallav (17), Mani Ramalingam father of Ashwath Mani (17). 

In these habeas Corpora, the petitioner claims that the 'Gurukul has become a war zone. What is the need for so much police in a place of education?' Also that the children are kept against their will in the ashram premises. 

When the matter came to hearing in High Court, the judge said that the minors who are in the ashram will have to be produced in the court so that it can be understood that the children are not kept against their will. The children and the investigating officer need to be called to the court and their statements will be recorded before the court of law. When the parents were called, the court individually asked all of the children on whether they wanted to live with parents or in the ashram. To this, the children replied that they indeed wanted to live in the ashram. 

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The judge enquired that since the adults (both saadhvis) and in-charge of the ashram were in police custody, who was taking care of the children in Ashram. There were several ashram volunteers who were present in the court and said that they are the temporary custodians of the children. The court, not convinced, said that there needs to be a child welfare committee official and a lady official present at the ashram at all times.

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The petitioners also stated their grievance that the children had been interrogated in an abusive manner and that there were obscene videos that were shown to the children by police officers. That, the police officers had been abusing the children and were saying 'if you continue to be in the ashram, you will be raped.' 

To this, the judge stated, "We all have to bear with the police investigation, but it is of utmost importance to this court that the children are not traumatized. Investigation shall not be thwarted or hampered for anything and if interrogation of children needs to be done - it needs to be done in a legal manner. They should not be traumatized", the judge said. 

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The court told the public prosecutor representing the Gujarat police, that they (parents) can be frisked before entering and full checking can be done but you can't prevent the parents to meet children. Also that the parents can not be present during taking statements of the children (since they are witnesses in the case), and that 'no shelter to parents behind their children'. 

In the end, the court also stated that there needed to be a CWC official and a lady officer also present during the statement recording of the children. While the written order was reserved for tomorrow, the judge stated that the parents' comings and goings will be recorded and they will be checked before entering the premises under investigation. 

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Lastly, the judge said, 'court is not concerned with the criminal investigation. Primarily it looks like none of the children are kept against their will. Police will allow parents to visit children from tomorrow.'

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