Sexual Harassment Case: Delhi Court Extends Judicial Custody of Chaitanyanand Saraswati by 14 Days
Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, accused of sexually harassing women students at a Delhi management institute, remains in judicial custody as police update the court on the ongoing investigation
A Delhi Court on Friday extended the judicial custody of Chaitanyanand Saraswati for another 14 days in connection with an alleged molestation case registered at Vasant Kunj North Police Station. His bail application is now scheduled to be heard on November 7.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Animesh Kumar of Patiala House Court extended the custody till November 14 after Saraswati was produced before the Patiala House Court upon expiry of his previous remand.
During the proceedings, Delhi Police sought additional time to file a status report on the bail plea, citing that several victims were currently out of station due to the session break and could not be examined. However, the court expressed displeasure, observing that an ongoing investigation was not a sufficient ground for adjournment.
Earlier, the police informed the Court that statements of 16 victims have been recorded before the magistrate, and mobile phones of five victims have been seized, with the remaining 11 to be collected. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) examination reports are awaited. The investigating officer, ACP Ved Prakash, also stated that obscene photos and related comments were recovered, with screenshots serving as evidence.
So far, five individuals, including three women, have been arrested in the case.
Previously, on October 15, the Court had declined the plea for seizure memos but allowed Saraswati certain concessions in jail, including wearing his Sanyasi robe, access to medicines, spectacles, books, and food.
Saraswati, previously remanded on October 3, was in judicial custody till October 17. The police had informed the Court that they had added a fresh charge of threatening witnesses to give false evidence under Section 232 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Saraswati, 62, was produced before the Court upon completion of his five-day police custody. The Delhi Police had told the court that the new provision was invoked after one of the women complainants reported being threatened following the registration of the case.
Chaitanyananda, who was arrested from a hotel after evading police for days, underwent a medical examination at Safdarjung Hospital before being brought to court. According to DCP (South-West) Amit Goel, a special team had been tracking him across Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal before finally nabbing him in Agra.
Days before his arrest, a former student who first lodged an FIR against him in 2016 came forward with new disclosures. According to media reports, she alleged that her original complaint of molestation and harassment was ignored. She said that had authorities acted on her case nine years ago, many other women might not have suffered.
The complainant described systematic exploitation by Chaitanyananda, alleging that students’ laptops, phones, and educational documents were confiscated and withheld to exert control. She further accused him of manipulating students with false promises of foreign placements while subjecting them to unwanted advances.
The case against Chaitanyananda stems from an FIR lodged on September 23 at Vasant Kunj North Police Station, where multiple women students of the PGDM programme under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) scholarship accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct. The allegations led the Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri to revoke the Power of Attorney earlier granted to him in 2008.
Hearing Date: October 31, 2025
Bench: Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Animesh Kumar