Kanchi Matha - Murder and Turmoil

Murder and Turmoil

In 2004, an ex-employee of the Kanchi matha was murdered. During the murder investigation, the police charged Jayendra Saraswati and several of his close associates with the murder. The murdered ex-employee, Sankararaman, had pointed out issues such as the tendency for both acharyas to be "closeted for long hours with certain women" as well as financial mismanagement. Investigators found that calls to the assailants had been made from the matha phone, and charges have been filed against Jayendra Saraswati as well as the junior acharya Vijayendra Saraswati.

On November 11, 2004, Jayendra Saraswati was arrested from Mehboobnagar, Andhra Pradesh. The arrest initially caused a tremendous uproar among the Hindu laity across the nation, and Bharatiya Janata Party and other Hindu groups started canvassing widely for his release. During the bail hearings, Justice R. Balasubramanian of the Madras High Court observed:

"materials relied upon by the prosecution... would prima facie constitute reasonable grounds to believe' that the petitioner is shown to be guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life."

However, in a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court, bail was granted, with the court observing that:

No worthwhile prima facie evidence apart from the alleged confessions have been brought to our notice to show that the petitioner along with other accused was party to a conspiracy

The Supreme Court also agreed to shift the trial to Pondicherry, after the defence argued that the media attention and other factors in Tamil Nadu made a fair trial impossible there.

In March 2006, both Jayendra as well as Vijayendra Saraswati, as well as a number of others, were charged on 14 counts, including murder and conspiracy. But the case was not proved.