Indore court summons Shankaracharya over Sai Baba issue

Indore: A local court on Friday issued a summons against Dwarkapeeth Shankaracharya, Swaroopanand Saraswati, over a private complaint about his controversial statement regarding Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Rajesh Shivsangia, the complainant, has alleged that the Shankaracharya committed offence under section 298 of Indian Penal Code (hurting religious sentiments) with his statement that Sai Baba, the 19th century saint, was no god, and therefore should not be worshipped. Additional chief judicial magistrate Deepak Kumar Pande issued a fresh summons to Swaroopanand Saraswati today and directed him to appear on September 20, said complainant`s lawyer Ashwin Kumar Adhyaru. The court had issued a summons first on July 9, but it was not served. Similar complaints have been filed against the Shankaracharya in the courts elsewhere too.