Wednesday, April 13 2005 18:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kancheepuram: The Sankararaman murder case, in which the Kanchi Seers, Jayendra Saraswathi and Vijayendra Saraswathi are the main accused, was today (Apr 13, 2005) committed to a Sessions court at Chengalpattu by a judicial magistrate in Kancheepuram.

Judicial First Class Magistrate G Uthamaraj, while committing the case to Sessions, posted the case for hearing before the Principal District Judge, Chengalpattu on April 27.

He directed all the accused and Ravi Subramaniam, accused-turned-approver, to be present in the Chengalpattu court on that day.

After the hearing, the Junior Acharya, Vijayendra Saraswathi, left for Kalavai, where his Guru Jayendra had been staying since January 11. The Senior Acharya was released from the Vellore prison on January 11 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the murder case the previous day.

Both would be staying together for the first time since the Shankaracharya's arrest in the murder case on November 11 last.

The Junior Pontiff was arrested in the case on January 10.

Vijayendra Saraswathi would be staying at Kalavai till Sri Rama Navami, which falls on April 19. He had been staying at Chennai since his release on bail on February 10.

Earlier, the Magistrate allowed a petition by Jayendra's lawyer K S Dinakaran, seeking dispensation of the Seer's personal appearance in the court today. Though the prosecution protested the petition, it did not challenge it.

The Defence Counsel contended that it was the sole discretion of the Magistrate to allow the petition. The Magistrate directed A Shanmugam, another counsel for Jayendra Saraswathi to sign an undertaking that he had no objection to committing the case to sessions and that the Seer would be present without fail at the sessions court on April 27.

Of the 24 accused in the murder case, five, including the Kanchi Seers, have obtained bail.