Tuesday, March 22 2005 14:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Dr S Bhaskaran, an ardent devotee of Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswathi today (Mar 22, 2005) withdrew a petition seeking to quash summons issued to him by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for raising funds through a website to meet expenses incurred by the Mutt on account of the cases.

Jusitce K P Sivasubramanian disposed off the petition when it came up before him after the doctor, attached to Sankara Netralaya, withdrew the petition following a submission by Tamil Nadu public prosecutor that the summons would not be pursued.

The Public Prosecutor, however, sought an assurance that the doctor would make himself available if required.

According to the summons issued by the SIT, the doctor was appealing to the devotees over a website, Kanchi Satya Digest, to contribute generously towards meeting expenses like court fees, documentation works and copying of documents.

The doctor contended that the summons was without jurisdiction as the SIT was based at Kancheepuram while he resided in Chennai.

On March 18 the Judge had restrained the SIT from pursuing the summons and posted the petition for today.