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IN THE COURT OF THE CHIEF METROPOLITAN


MAGISTRATE

AT BANGALORE, BANGALORE DISTRICT

PRIVATE COMPLAINT No. 5577 of 2012

(Complaint made under the authority of Section 200 read


with Section 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 –
offence of criminal defamation in terms of Section 499 of
the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 34 thereof
and made punishable under Sections 500, 501 and 502
thereof)

BETWEEN:

Sri. Nithyananda Swami Complainant


Aged about 34 years
S/o.Arunachalam
Residing at:
Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam
Nithyanandanagar Kallugopahalli
Off Mysore Road
Bidadi 562 109
Ramnagar District
State of Karnataka

AND:

1. Sri. Selvarangam Accused No.1


Publisher
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu
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2. Sri Pa. Varadarajan Accused No.2


Managing Director
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu
3. Sri. S. Paul Antony Raj Accused No.3
Printer
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

4. Sri. S.Ilangovan Accused No.4


Editor
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

5. Sri. M.Pandiarajan Accused No.5


Joint Editor
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu
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6. Sri. Bala Jyothi Accused No.6


Assistant Editor
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

7. Sri. S Mohan Accused No.7


Assistant Editor
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

8. Sri. Vettai Perumal Accused No.8


Assistant Editor
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

9. Sri. S.Subramanian Accused No.9


Coordinator of Editorial Board
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu
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10. Sri. Charu Nivedita Accused No.10


Author of the cited articles:
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Residence:
No.8/15
Venkatasamy Street
Mylapore
Chennai 600 004
Tamil Nadu

11. Sri. Ira Murugesan Accused No.11


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

12. Sri. Vetri Accused No.12


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

13. Sri. Pushkin Rajkumar Accused No.13


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
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Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd


Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

14. Sri. Nandan Accused No.14


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

15. Sri. A.Vijay Anand Accused No.15


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

16. Sri. Vai Kadiravan Accused No.16


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
1. Tamil Nadu
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17. Sri. Pa Tirumalai Accused No.17


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

18. Sri. Mathew Raj Accused No.18


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

19. Sri. Pa Ekalaivan Accused No.19


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

20. Sri. Bala Accused No.20


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
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Old No: 151, New No: 306


Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

21. Sri. P. Rajini Kanth Accused No.21


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

22. Sri. M.P. Gajaraj Accused No.22


Author of the cited articles
Writer/Reporter
Kumudam Reporter Magazine
Kumudam Publications (P) Ltd
Old No: 151, New No: 306
Purasawalkam Main Road
Chennai 600 010
Tamil Nadu

THE COMPLAINANT, NITHYANANDA SWAMI, MOST


RESPECTFULLY SUBMITS THAT:

1. The Complainant, also known as „Paramahamsa Nithyananda‟


is a religious practitioner who has established and also
administers, the Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam at
Nithyanandanagar, Kallugopahalli, Off Mysore Road, Bidadi
562 109, Ramnagar District, State of Karnataka.

2. The Complainant is herein represented by a legal practitioner


and service of notice or other information upon him may be
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effected through his Advocates, Sri K.V.Dhananjay and


Ms.R.Anupama at No.296, Kamakshipalya, Magadi Main
Road, Bangalore 560 079.

3. That the Complainant, Nithyananda Swami, is a religious


practitioner of great repute and has achieved reverence and
respect in almost every country of the world for his passionate
revival of the Vedic tradition and of Hindu culture, worship
and ideals. At the age of 33 years, the Complainant had
achieved the fame of being the most watched religious
preacher on the internet. A statement of the public reputation
of the Complainant including certificates of „recognition‟ by
Governments or Legislatures in the United States of America
and Canada is produced herewith and marked as Annexure
A1 to A21.

4. This complaint is filed under the authority of Section 200 read


with Section 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
Further, this complaint is made for the purpose of redressing
the commission by the accused of „criminal defamation‟ of the
Complainant in terms of Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code,
1860 read with Section 34 thereof in relation to news articles
which were printed, published, distributed and disseminated
in the „Kumudam Reporter‟ Magazine, a Tamil Magazine of
varying frequency of publication. This complaint seeks due
and just punishment to the accused in terms of Sections 500,
501 and 502 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The said Tamil
Magazine, „Kumudam Reporter‟ shall be referred to
hereinafter as „Kumudam Reporter‟ wherever the context
admits.

5. The Tamil Magazine, „Kumudam Reporter‟ is also sold in the


city of Bangalore at various places including outlets at Kempe
Gowda road and adjoining roads. Further, the Kumudam
Reporter Magazine is thereafter circulated not just within the
district of Bangalore but is also circulated in other districts of
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Karnataka, including the district of Ramnagar, the residence


of the Complainant. Nevertheless, the fact of the publisher
intending official circulation of his magazine at the city of
Bangalore and the actual circulation thereafter of his
magazine in the city of Bangalore at outlets situated on
Kempe Gowda Road and adjoining roads confers jurisdiction
upon this Hon‟ble Court to entertain the aforesaid complaint
and to proceed therefrom. Further, the impugned editions of
the magazine containing the defamatory news reports were
purchased by the agent of the Complainant from the stores
situated in Kempe Gowda Road and on the roads adjacent to
it. Also, the Complainant has most distressingly perused the
contents of the impugned news reports.

6. This complaint is made and directed against the author,


editor, publisher and the printer of the Kumudam Reporter
Magazine in respect of all articles that are specified
hereinafter to the extent of their legal duty owed to the
Complainant and to the extent of their legal responsibility in
relation to the defamation of the reputation and character of
the Complainant arising from the publication, distribution,
dissemination and circulation of certain articles, specified
hereinafter, in the Kumudam Reporter Magazine. In other
words, the author, editor, publisher and printer of the
Kumudam Reporter Magazine have been arrayed as the
accused to the extent that the impugned news reports
demonstrate a common intention by the accused to harm the
reputation of the Complainant.

7. Similarly, this complaint is further directed against the


author, editor, publisher and the printer of the Kumudam
Reporter Magazine to the extent of their reckless disregard to
the consequences that they had a legal duty to foresee by
reason of writing, printing, publication, dissemination,
circulation and distribution of certain articles, specified
hereinafter, in relation to the Complainant in the Kumudam
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Reporter Magazine. In other words, the author, editor,


publisher and printer of the Kumudam Reporter Magazine
have also been arrayed as the accused to the extent that the
impugned news reports demonstrate actual harm to the
reputation of the Complainant in pursuance of a common
intention by the accused to harm the reputation of the
Complainant.

8. All news articles referred to in this complaint are news


articles that were published in the Chennai city edition of
Kumudam Reporter Magazine that were distributed, sold and
circulated in the city of Bangalore. Specifically, the specific
issues of the magazine that form the basis of this complaint
were available and sold at outlets on Kempe Gowda road and
at outlets situated in its adjacent roads in the city of
Bangalore. Further, the impugned issues of the magazine
were also circulated in the district of Ramnagar, the district of
the Complainant‟s residence.

9. Further, all reproduction from the said Magazine is translated


into English from Tamil for the purpose of this Complaint.

10. Preliminary Submissions:

11. The Complainant respectfully submits that on 04-Mar-2010,


one Karuppan Lenin („K. Lenin‟ for short, hereinafter)
prepared a lengthy but highly resentful and hateful
commentary on Nithyananda Swami and submitted the same
to the Central Crime Branch Police Station, Egmore, Chennai,
Tamil Nadu. The said complaint is replete with too many
instances of rumor, gossip and hearsay and is wholly
deprived of the very concept of „place, date or time‟. Further,
K. Lenin also furnished a CD containing, allegedly, the act of
two individuals engaging in consensual sex within the privacy
of a bedroom.
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12. K. Lenin admitted in his complaint to having committed acts


that are themselves in the nature of „criminal trespass‟. Yet,
the police at Chennai immediately registered a „First
Information Report‟ in terms of Section 154 of the Criminal
Procedure Code, 1973 against Nithyananda Swami for
offences under Sections 295(A), 376, 377, 420, 506 and 120(B)
of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

13. The Complainant respectfully submits that similarly, on the


same day as K. Lenin, T.M. Vishwanath, another resentful
individual filed a statement to the Central Crime Branch
Police Station, Egmore, Chennai on 04-Mar-2010. The said
statement contains nothing more than a brooding resentment
over Nithyananda Swami. Surprisingly, the broadcast of the
video produced by K. Lenin on television two days ago is the
focus of Mr. T.M. Vishwanath‟s complaint to the Police. The
said letter was promptly attended to by the Chennai Police –
an FIR was registered and numbered as 16 of 2010 against
Nithyananda Swami accusing him of offences under Sections
295A and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

14. The Complainant respectfully submits that by a


communication dated 15-Mar-2010, the Director General of
Police for the State of Tamil Nadu, the foremost police officer
for that State wrote to his counterpart in the State of
Karnataka, Director General of Police, Karnataka, for the
purpose of transferring all complaints against Nithyananda
Swami to the police agencies in the State of Karnataka in view
of the opinion of the police agencies in the State of Tamil
Nadu that any investigation into the commission of the
alleged offences could only be conducted in the territory of
Karnataka. The said communication was promptly acted
upon by the police agencies in the State of Karnataka and
complaints were registered against Nithyananda Swami by
the police agencies in the State of Karnataka.
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15. The Complainant respectfully submits that the Bidadi Police


Station at Ramnagar District in Karnataka fully adopted the
FIRs transferred to it from the State of Tamil Nadu.

16. The Complainant further submits that the FIR on complaint


from K. Lenin came to be numbered as FIR No.141 of 2010
and discloses all the offences recorded in the FIR at Chennai -
Sections 295(A), 376, 377, 420, 506 and 120(B) of the Indian
Penal Code, 1860.

17. The Complainant further submits that similarly, the FIR on


the complaint by T.M. Vishwanath came to be registered at
the Bidadi Police Station, Ramnagar District, Karnataka as
FIR No.142 of 2010.

18. The Complainant further submits that Nithyananda Swami,


aggrieved by the orchestrated and malicious acts and criminal
process initiated against him, approached the Hon‟ble High
Court of Karnataka on 22-Mar-2010. Invoking the inherent
jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 482 of the
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Nithyananda Swami sought
the quashing of all proceedings in relation to Crime Nos. 141
of 2010 and 142 of 2010 pending on the file of the learned
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramnagar District, State of
Karnataka. Specifically, Criminal Petition No.1231 of 2010
was filed in relation to Crime No.141 of 2010.

19. The Complainant respectfully submits that primarily,


Nithyananda Swami denied the commission of any offence
accused against him. Seeking a protection against the
arbitrary, malicious and illegal initiation of criminal process
for no higher purpose than to merely validate the hate
campaign against him, Nithyananda Swami also sought an
interim stay on the conduct of investigation and a further
stay on his arrest by the police.
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20. The Complainant respectfully submits that however, due to a


hurried filing of a Charge sheet by the Karnataka Police to the
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramnagar District, Karnataka on
27-Nov-2010, the petitioner Nithyananda Swami was
compelled to withdraw the petitions that he had previously
preferred seeking quashing of the criminal complaints against
him. The Hon‟ble High Court of Karnataka was pleased to
permit Nithyananda Swami, the petitioner to re-file another
petition to the High Court seeking a quash of the very charge
sheet that had just been filed by the Police.

21. The Complainant respectfully submits, in relation to each


news report that has been produced and marked herewith,
the substance of his accusation, as under:

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure B Annexure B1
Date of Publication: Volume:9 Issue:95
11-Mar-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
A. Vijay Anand Accused No. 15
Vetri Accused No. 12
Pushkin Rajkumar Accused No. 13
Nandan Accused No. 14
Ira Muruganesan Accused No. 11

22. At the very outset, the Complainant respectfully submits that


all photographs and videos shot of two individuals engaging
in sex and intimacy between them and attributed to an act
involving the Complainant and Ma Ranjitha are refuted and
have always been stated to be morphed, fabricated and
invented by Mr. K. Lenin and his group of conspirators.

23. In relation to the cover photograph of the aforesaid issue, it is


respectfully submitted that the photograph of the
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Complainant and Ma Ranjitha seated together is made to look


as if the two individuals shown in the photograph are seated
at one place together. No such event has ever occurred and
the cover photograph of the magazine has been created with a
calculation to inflict a deliberate injury to the good reputation
of the Complainant. The choice of the photograph, the
accused have made of Ma Ranjitha for the purpose of placing
it alongside the photograph of the Complainant exceeds the
journalistic permission to portray parody. It is thoroughly
defamatory to the Complainant.

24. The accused have not published any information or caveat to


inform their readers that the images could have been
morphed. By failing to so warn their readers, the accused
have clearly forsaken their obligation to report the truth to
their readers. Under these circumstances, the accused were
deprived of any rational basis to assume that K. Lenin was
speaking the truth and nothing else but the truth. Even if the
accused did not intend to doubt the version of K. Lenin, the
accused had an unfailing duty to recognize that the
transmission of K. Lenin‟s work was bound to injure the
reputation of another individual. In discharging such duty to
the public at large, the accused had an obligation to contact
or consult with the Complainant and to publish his views on
the topic of their discussion. It should not have mattered to
the truth seeking pursuits of their magazine if only the
accused had tempered all of their articles with an appropriate
denial from the Complainant. The fact that the accused have
steered clear of the Complainant‟s statements of denial clearly
go to establish that the accused have thoroughly failed in the
pursuit of their journalistic obligation to tell the truth.
Further, by placing undue faith in the work of a conspirator,
the accused have committed clear violation of the criminal
defamation law of this country. The accused had a further
duty to recognize that their readers were to form their own
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minds and opinion based on the information that the accused


would provide in their publication. The content of their
publication barely qualifies as „information‟ as it seeks to
provide no meaningful information to their readers other than
to blindly publish the concocted version of K. Lenin. It is
evident from a thorough examination of all of their articles
concerning the Complainant that their publication has
engaged in not the slightest amount of independent research
and verification of the content published therein. Because the
information that the accused have published was such as to
deprive the accused of the ability to perform an independent
research and verification of K. Lenin‟s conspiracy, the
accused were under a heightened legal duty to also state
prominently, the response or denial of the Complainant. The
fact that the accused clearly knew of such heightened legal
duty on their part but chose to not carry the views and denial
of the Complainant by itself establishes malice and therefore
an inexcusable defamation of the character and reputation of
the Complainant.

25. The accused have stated that the camera was planted in the
flower pot. This information is not available to the
Complainant from a perusal of all the documents furnished
by the Karnataka police to him through the medium of the
courts of law. As such, it has become necessary to cast
suspicion on their publication and to hold a genuine doubt
over whether their publication had advance information about
the illegal acts committed by K. Lenin and his group of
conspirators.

26. The accused have chosen to deliberately exaggerate the


material wealth of the Complainant for the purpose of
painting a picture of greed. For instance, the accused clearly
knew that the Complainant does not occupy a 200 acre
ashram at Bidadi in Karnataka. The trust established by the
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Complainant is situated at 45 acre ashram at Bidadi in


Karnataka.

27. The accused have spoken about some of the Complainants


charged against him. The accused have stated nothing about
who complained to such effect and at which police station. At
the relevant time, the Complaints lodged by K. Lenin and
Vishwanath at Chennai stated no such thing as published by
the accused. This is what the accused have published:

The dirty happenings in the ashram for the past 8 years


came to light in 2005. „Young girls are allowed to go
near Nithyananda by his disciples. He touches these
young girls‟ bodies when they go near him for healing.
This blissful dance that he dances has disgusting
scenes. „It beats even the star hotel dances‟. These are
the some of the complaints charged against him.

28. The accused have created the fiction of an administrator from


the ashram when in fact no such administrator is believed by
the Complainant to have spoken to the accused on such
terms as published by the accused as under:

Today, slippers are being thrown on swami‟s pictures. A


lot of struggle and noise and fanaticism have been
shown over this video. “Sannyasis from other classes
refuse to accept a Sannyasi from the Mudaliar
community. That is the reason for all this commotion,”
said an ashram administrator sighting a new reason for
all this chaos.

For that we asked him, „Then are you refuting this video
and saying that it is not him?‟ To that he replied, “I am
afraid to talk about this big plot for fear of the
consequences it will bring to me. Eight people know the
story behind this video. There was a deal struck with the
eye on big money, with the people immediately below
swami. It will only be apt to say that these chasing shots
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were started at the Bangalore ashram and ended at the


Salem-Azhagapuram. I will send you to someone who
was part of this deal. You will get more exact details of
the deal. “Saying this he sent us to that person‟s house
which is in prime part of Chennai.

29. The accused have deliberately invented the fiction of an


ashram administrator speaking to them for the sole purpose
of lending credence to their act of defaming the Complainant.
The accused had a further duty to know that not every
ashram administrator was authorized to speak to the media
and that if any administrator did speak to the accused
without the requisite authority, the accused ought to have
cast some doubt on the version of such administrator.
Further, the accused were under a legal duty to also specify
that the person speaking to the accused as an administrator
did not have the authority to so speak. If only the accused
had so said in their article, their readers would have obtained
the information as to the kind of reliance they should place
on the version of the supposed ashram administrator.

30. The accused have stated that the Bangalore ashram is very
strange for there is no difference between men and women
there. The implication of such a statement is that there is a
free intermingling of men and women in the Bangalore
ashram. The Complainant respectfully submits that no such
intermingling takes place and there is a strict segregation of
sexes in the ashram.

31. The accused have further stated that to clean up


Nithyananda‟s bedroom many women would come and go
thereby giving an impression that the alleged impropriety by
the Complainant extended to many women. Such a
connotation is false and outrageous.

32. The accused have further stated:


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“Five young women committed suicide because of their


sexual provocations. A young sannyasi from Canada
jumped from one of the balconies of the ashram and
committed suicide. All these truths are hidden and kept
within the ashram. It has also been said that two women
went to the extent of suicide due to the torture given to
them by Nithyananda,” he said.

33. The accused have made factual allegations in the above


paragraph and none of these allegations have any basis in
fact or in reality and are solely based on their imagination. By
imagining a certain state of disturbing events and by
publishing the same, the accused have caused irreparable
injury to the reputation of the Complainant.

34. The accused have further stated:

Without this matter going to Nithyananda, the CD was


shown to Sadananda. Nithya Sadananda, a senior
administrator of the ashram has informed us that no
such CD was shown to him.

Talks started 2 months before. At that time, Lenin


handed some pictures to the administrative head of the
ashram saying that these were given to him secretly by
Ranjitha. In that, all the obscene pictures of Swami and
Ranjitha were there. The administrative head did not
budge. The video was also shown to him. Also the
amount of fifty Crores fixed by Ranjitha for not airing it in
public was communicated. Out of that 50 Crores, fifty
percent would go to Lenin and his older brother Kumar.

35. The accused have repeatedly made several allegations by


attributing all of such allegations to statements made by
unnamed ashram administrators. It is respectfully submitted
that no such administrator is believed to have spoken to the
accused on the terms that the accused have published.
Accordingly, the accused have published nothing but their
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own imagination and the accused have further thought it fit


to lend credence to their imaginary stories by falsely citing
certain administrators.

36. The statements, actions and lamenting attributed to the


Complainant have been vividly, but falsely, imagined by the
accused. The reputation of the Complainant has been
damaged beyond repair, as a result.

37. The accused have further stated that the Complainant


attempted to commit suicide. The Complainant respectfully
submits that he did not ever attempt to commit suicide. By
falsely saying so, the accused have created a permanent
barrier for all spiritual seekers to place their faith in the
words and teachings of the Complainant. By those words, the
accused have created a permanent disbelief on all of his
discourses on hope and optimism. By falsely publishing that
the Complainant sought to commit suicide, the accused have
eroded the value and worth of his past and future discourses.
Therefore the said statement that has no basis in truth or fact
is thoroughly defamatory to the Complainant.

38. Their further statement that “To cheer him up the sannyasis of
the ashram are yet to find new words from the dictionary” is
similarly calculated as their statements on suicide – to wreak
havoc on the reputation of the Complainant.

39. The accused have further stated:

For the basic problems of life people have to struggle


with politics and finance to find solutions. Those who
are not ready to take this route go to temples, do puja,
go to swami to find solutions. Ranjitha‟s life is an
example of where this will lead us to. Even older
saamiyars have got caught in sex scandals. Is
Nithyananda barely 32 years of age living a lavish life an
exception? For all the young girls who came to seek the
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peace that spirituality offers saamiyar has convinced


them that he is God. He has cheated them by saying
that if they had sexual relationships with him they can
surrender themselves to God. All these days this worked
well now he has got caught properly. He already has
charges of sex and land seizing against him. But with all
his influence and popularity, all these charges have
been nullified. Once we had attempted to know this
saamiyar, but we moved away from him at one point.

40. The above comment of the accused proceeds on their seeming


conviction that the Complainant has achieved material
prosperity solely by advocating that his disciples should have
sex with him. As already reiterated, the Complainant
respectfully refutes the allegation that he has sex with his
devotees and reaffirms that he has had no sex of any kind
with any of his devotees. As such, their baseless conviction
expressed in the above paragraph is a thorough exception to
the journalistic endeavor which their publication claims to
uphold. At any rate, the above paragraph is wholly
defamatory and the accused certainly were keen to demolish
the goodwill held by devotees of the Complainant.

41. The accused have further stated:

He would take drugs and with stilled eyes he would be


in an exalted state and be blabbering all the time. It is
this very blabbering that people are now paying in
thousands and going to listen to.

42. The above assertion is false and outrageous and it is


respectfully submitted while the accused do retain the right to
fairly criticize the public discourses of the Complainant, the
accused do not have any kind of right to claim falsely that the
Complainant has or continues to consume intoxicating drugs.
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43. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never


consumed nor has he ever been in the habit of consuming
intoxicating drugs at any point of time in his life or career.

44. The accused have further stated:

In Avadi, the ex-minister Thambi Durai has a college. A


few months ago the Ananda thandavam 3 day
meditation program was conducted by Nithyananda in
this college. In this program actor Vijay‟s mother Shoba,
actor Vivek, Deepa Venkat and many more from
actresses from the small screen participated. On the
last day of this program Shoba was in a trance after
reading the poem she wrote praising Nithyananda and
she danced. All the actors and actresses hugged each
other and danced.

At that time swami called each of them individually and


hugged them and kissed them. The Hindu people who
participated in the program objected to this and Swami
just kept quiet about it. In spite of the objection Swami
still hugged them and this was the highlight of this
event.

45. The accused might have been aware that there is no program
by the name of „Ananda Thandavam‟ that has been conducted
either at the specific venue that the accused have cited or at
any other location by the Complainant. Their further
statement that the Complainant did individually kiss the
participants in the above program is thoroughly false and the
accused clearly knew it. The Complainant reiterates that he
does not kiss any devotee whether in private or in public and
he does not endorse such conduct for any religious
practitioner.

46. The accused have further stated:


22

On Tuesday night when the video was aired, the Hindu


Makkal Katchi came in front of the ashram and did
some protests. On seeing this, Nithyananda gave his
stand on the issue to Arjun Sampath the leader of the
Hindu party on phone. But Sampath did not agree. He
firmly said, “Come out in the open and give your
explanation and stop being in hiding.” Swami has got in
touch with Kumararaja the state leader of Shiv Sena
and made him organize a press meet on Wednesday
evening in Chennai and asked him to communicate that
video was only sheer graphics.

47. The above paragraph is clearly false and defamatory. The


Complainant did not see any imperative to mollify any Section
of the media or any political party at that critical hour. The
Complainant clearly knew that the video involving him was
fully fabricated and morphed and that his response in those
critical days could have only been limited.

48. Further, the assertion of the accused that the Complainant


sponsored a denial through someone else is without any basis
in fact. No such sponsorship or request took place and the
accused lacked any basis to say so. Consequently, the
accused have created an impression that the Complainant did
not demonstrate the courage to address wild allegations
thrown at him at the relevant time.

49. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never done


and would never do anything of the kind stated by the
accused in the aforesaid paragraph. As such, the aforesaid
paragraph is wholly defamatory and depicts the Complainant
as a man short of honor.

50. The accused have further stated:

We went and spoke to the actress who played mother


role in movies and who introduced Ranjitha to
23

saamiyar. She said, “I am also a devotee of that swami.


Swami often says, „If you share pain there will be more
pain. If you share bliss there will be more bliss.” In these
six seven months somehow Ranjitha has become close to
swami. Many of us female devotees who go to Saamiyar
are waiting to surrender to him. It is the exalted state of
Krishna-Meera. You saw that video. Is it prostitution that
is happening there? Ranjitha is such a big actress. She is
serving swami by pressing his legs. What wrong is there
in this? She feeds swami. She offers him water. She
hands him his tablet in his mouth. She just merges with
swami after that. What wrong have you found in this?
Like Ranjitha, do you know how many devotees are
waiting to surrender?‟

So we asked her, „Then who is it who took that video?‟

She said, “To this I cannot openly talk. There was


another devotee who was lamenting that she was not
able to serve swami in the manner that Ranjitha did.
Speculation is that she may have done this. Surely
swami will pardon the girl who did this. The people who
did not have belief in swami have made this video a big
issue.” The way she spoke as if nothing had actually
happened shocked us.

51. It is a bona-fide belief of the Complainant that a certain


actress that the accused have spoken to as evidenced in the
above paragraph is a non-existent person or is a mere figment
of their imagination. Their imaginary actress is justifying sex
in the form of physical subjugation and surrender to the
Complainant. The Complainant has never advocated such
form of subjugation or servitude. Accordingly, by inventing a
non-existent person to voice their statements, the accused
have intentionally and deliberately inflicted irreparable harm
on the reputation of the Complainant.
24

52. The accused have further stated:

In this state, the high court lawyer of Chennai and the


all India founder of Muthramalinga Thevar Trust, lawyer
Siva had filed a complaint against Swami Nithyananda
with the Ezhumbur Police Station Commissioner and
asked to arrest Nithyananda. We met him.

He said, “I am a lawyer and a member of Cinema


Sangam. I also run the Trust of the late Muthramalinga
Thevar who thought of nationality and religion as two
eyes. On the land where such great souls lived now in
the name of spirituality many fake saamiyars exist. Their
many atrocious activities are on the increase.

At 32 years of age he makes idols of himself and asks


people to pray to it. He has cheated the people by telling
them that he has the healing touch and can cure them of
incurable diseases. He has changed spirituality into a
business. He has impressed the people with his talk. He
has earned Crores of rupees through this. He has been
having fun keeping girls, actresses to serve him.

The women who came there being fed up of worldly life


in the name of healing - the „art of touching‟ he aroused
them and he used them to fulfill his lustful leelas. He has
brought a bad name for Indian spirituality by
mesmerizing these women and using these women for
his own desires. In this manner he has misused the
spiritual belief of these people and earned several Crores.
Cases have been filed against him on every aspect.

There is no big difference between the obscene scenes


shot in Kanchipuram in Devanatha sanctum sanctorum
and Nithyananda‟s video. Although none of the women
involved with the priest pressed charges against the
priest for being forced into sex he was arrested and
25

released. After he was released he shaved off his tuft of


hair and bade goodbye to his profession as a priest.

Same way, even this Nithyananda must bid farewell to


selling spirituality and must be arrested and he must
shave his hair. Until this is done I will take all action
against him on behalf of our trust.

It is not enough if a case is filed against him based on my


complaint. Under the Goonda‟s Act he must be arrested.
Since there is a reason for this I will file a petition in the
court.” Saying this he finished his talk.

53. The accused have stated that the said lawyer Siva did file a
police complaint at the Ezhumbur police station. The
Complainant respectfully submits that no such complaint
was ever filed by any person with that name and with the
description and designation the accused have offered of the
said person.

54. By introducing a false complainant into their wholly


fabricated story and accounts, the accused have wholly
derogated from the essential function of a journalist and the
accused have further channeled their attention and energy to
severely injure the reputation of the Complainant.

55. The accused further knew that when they said that a certain
lawyer demanded the arrest of the Complainant under the
Goondas‟ Act, the accused have essentially classified the
Complainant within the small set of heinous accused who are
typically charged and arrested under the Tamil Nadu
Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug
Offenders, Forest Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic
Offenders, Sand Offenders, Slum-grabbers and Video Pirates
Act, 1982 (Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982) („Goondas Act‟ for
short).
26

56. The lawyer by name Siva had no basis to assert that the
Complainant should be arrested under the Goondas Act
simply because the said statute is a statute that has no
application whatsoever to an alleged sexual relationship
between a religious practitioner and his devotees. The said
lawyer Siva ought to have known so much. If he did not, the
accused were under a legal duty to ascertain if such a
connotation could even be made for the alleged acts of the
Complainant. Failing on both counts, their report has
incalculably injured the reputation and good name of the
Complainant.

57. The accused have further stated:

At this juncture when we enquired about the


Nithyananda‟s activities from his ex-lady devotees our
heads reeled. They said, “When Nithyananda is resting
alone in his quarters no men will be allowed to enter.
That area is full and full under the control of ladies only.
Women who have beauty and youth will serve him. That
too only cine stars will be given first preference. If
Nithyananda enters his bedroom it is his order that one
woman has to be with him.

After that woman finishes her „serving‟ the next woman


will have to be sent in. Regarding this no woman speaks
about. If she talks about it, that very minute she will be
sent out of the ashram. There is another horror story
about an 18 year old that was sent out in the middle of
the night.”

58. The Complainant respectfully submits that no part of what


has been stated in the aforesaid paragraph is true and the
accused certainly lacked any material basis to so assert. The
individuals that the accused have claimed that have spoken
to them might not even be in existence or were individuals
who were a part of a broader conspiracy. The accused were
27

under a legal duty to verify the credentials and truthfulness of


their sources and the accused have wholly failed in the same.
By such failure, the accused have occasioned colossal and
incalculable damage to the reputation of the Complainant.

59. The accused have further said:

It seems there is a separate team there to introduce cine


actresses to him. It seems the present agent who
introduces actresses is a producer who is a temple for
love. Through this person actress „M‟, actress with the
three letters in her name beginning with „Sha‟, actress
whose name sounds like flowers (poo) in basket in
Tamil, the „May Maadham Tha‟ actress‟s were
introduced to Nithyananda. „May Maadham Tha‟
actress‟s mother is also Nithyananda‟s devotee it seems.

60. The Complainant respectfully states that he has not


commissioned any team and nor is he aware of any team that
is meant to recruit, induct or invite cinema professionals or
any other class of persons to the ashrams established and
administered by him. Their aforesaid claim is wholly false and
is depreciable. Their aforesaid claim connotes sinister designs
and has contributed to much damage to the Complainant.

61. The accused have further stated:

He spends his leisure time only with women

- A letter that will create excitement

- Nandan

A 23 year old young girl who was affected by


Nithyananda‟s sexual activities in Dhyanapeetam
ashram has written a letter to a few people in the
ashram in English. Through this letter many charges
have been put on the ashram. Some of the important
parts of that letter are as follows:
28

„I am a 23 year old girl. I am one of the people who were


tortured by Nithyananda sexually. Due to fear of my life
and fear of this torture I do not wish to show my
identity. Just like me there are many young women who
have been tortured sexually. But everyone is afraid of
their life so they do not say anything openly. He tells the
women who believe him that he is Krishna Bhaktha and
they are all his gopikas. To those who get an
opportunity to be close to him he would tell them that
by having physical relationship with him they could
easily and quickly reach God. Serving him begins with
pressing his feet then it moves on to feeding him and
step by step it is taken to the next level.

One person cannot know the activities of Nithyananda.


He is guarded by his close devotees. The mansion he
lives in is not easily accessible. So most people in the
ashram do not know what goes on there. Near the
meditation hall and in his quarters he would spend his
leisure time with mostly only women individually. Each
of the women individually spends time with him and
majority believes this as counseling. But behind the
close doors with the women he likes he indulges in
lustful behavior. I also recently had an opportunity to
serve him. It would begin with pressing his legs and
slowly proceed to feeding his food. Soon it extended to
sexual lustful acts. He recommended me to read books
on Kama sutra and asked me to do according to what I
have read in those books.

In short Nithyananda is a women monger. He makes


young women fall in his net. He is a very dangerous
cancer that is spreading across the society very quickly.
There are several videos and pictures that bring out
Nithyananda‟s lust beyond doubt. All the news against
him that will tarnish his image has been suppressed by
29

giving bribes or by buying out people in power. Let us


look at some of the forth coming issues.

In 2008 December, a Canadian citizen who was in an


affected state by a meditation method came to the
balcony of his apartment in the ashram on the second
floor. He fell down from there. He was in a very badly
hurt state when he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
But the hospital refused him admission as they already
found him dead. It was thought that this was an
accident and not a natural death. But Nithyananda
contacted the owner of the hospital who was his friend
and asked him to admit the body. The hospital was
made to report that they had evidence that he suddenly
died of a heart attack. It is significant to note that a post
mortem was not done on his body. His body was kept in
another hospital and then some people from the
Canadian ashram came and then it was burnt. These
kinds of incidents are easily hidden because of
Nithyananda who has as his friends Chief Ministers,
ministers, and MPs who come and see him on his
birthday every year without fail.

Many incidents where basic human rights are


trespassed happen here. When they are in training,
young sannyasis and close disciples get beaten badly
with his stick by him. In 2008, a week after that
Canadian died, another young sannyasi, 18 years of age
had been taken to task for some mistake the person
made. Not being able to bear this, the sannyasi drank
an insecticide and attempted suicide. This sannyasi was
admitted in hospital for 10 days when this sannyasi was
in coma after which the sannyasi came back. Cases
have been registered in the Kengeri and Bidadi Police
station in this regard.
30

In another instance a 22 year old young brahmacharini,


not being able to bear the sexual torture of Nithyananda
attempted suicide. After taking treatment in the hospital
she was sent home. No case was filed in this regard.

In 24-Dec-2009, a young brahmachari who was beaten


by swami swallowed 14 sleeping tablets and attempted
suicide. He was admitted in the hospital as a „visitor‟ of
the ashram and was treated. Like this we can go on
relating many incidents.

The youth of Tamil Nadu come for spiritual training to


this ashram. Here they are brainwashed and they
forsake their parents and stay back in the ashram. In
spite of the complaints of the parents for their children
nothing could be done about this because of
Nithyananda‟s popularity.

During the darshan time there are thousands of copies


of photographs and videos where he is seen hugging
women. All these photos have been in the archives of
the ashram which is protected and nobody has access
to it. They do not bring it out in the ashram‟s website
either.

He proclaims himself not only as a guru but also as


God, as an incarnation- an avatarapurusha. Anyone
who opposes him and asks him a question he will label
them as traitor of the guru and expel them from the
ashram. Since he says that being a traitor of the guru is
bad karma everyone accepts whatever he says and does
accordingly.

In the Bidadi ashram alone there are 50


brahmacharinis and 70 brahmacharis. Ashramites of
his other ashrams in Tamil Nadu and all over the world
come and go to this ashram. All these people believe
that Nithyananda is innocent and that he did not do
31

anything.‟ The letter began this way and it mentioned


also that Nithyananda has evaded paying income tax
and she told us some details about it.

It has been said that the ashram has lot of black money
and it has been kept in certain lockers in the ashram,
locations of which have been told. In this letter, it says
that Nithyananda is the main person involved in all
these illegal and immoral activities and mentions 5 of
his close associates also who have a hand in it.

Some of the State Chief Ministers, Ministers and


Officials who think that he is very pure have come and
taken his blessings. Also mentioned in this letter is that
he has created strong, fanatic devotees in Tamil Nadu
and that is the reason why he is able to have such a
strong establishment.

This letter mentions that all those who are guilty have
to be punished and says „truth will triumph‟ as the last
statement these photos have been in the archives of
ashram.

62. The Complainant respectfully submits that such a letter is


clearly an act of mischief by somebody who is inimical to his
interest and growth. Every aspect and part of the said letter is
denied. No such thing as to the manner of service by women
devotees to the Complainant has ever happened. As stated
earlier, the Complainant does not engage in sex or intimacy
with any of his disciples, male or female.

63. The Complainant respectfully submits that no pornographic


material is permitted or allowed inside the ashram premises.
It is further submitted that in his more than 8000 hours of
recorded speeches, the Complainant has not once delved into
the aspects of Kama sutra.
32

64. As to the death of a Canadian citizen, the Complainant


respectfully submits that he has made enquiries from his
administrators and has learnt that the allegation contained in
that letter is absolutely fabricated and that the said death
was purely accidental and that the ashram administrators
promptly contacted the police thereafter and sought their
intervention and further ensured quick medical attention. The
family members of the said Canadian citizen were also
informed, most promptly, by the ashram administrators. The
relevant legal processes such as a post-mortem and other
police acts were duly performed with full co-operation by the
ashram administrators. Neither the relatives of the said
Canadian citizen nor the police have expressed any
suggestion, let alone a suspicion, of wrongdoing by any
person in relation to the death of the Canadian citizen.

65. Further, all accounts and statements received by the


Complainant establish that the death of the Canadian citizen
was purely accidental and nothing more. In publishing the
above account, the accused have cast a serious aspersion on
the reputation of the Complainant and his ashram
administrators. The accused have entertained in the minds of
their readers, a notion that the said Canadian citizen might
have been driven to death or was otherwise murdered by
persons in the ashram of the Complainant. Such a statement
is false and wholly outrageous and should never have been
published in the first place without laying a proper
foundation for such allegation. There is no foundation
whatsoever to their aforesaid wild story.

66. Therefore, their act of publishing a rumour that a certain


foreign citizen was found dead in the ashram of the
Complainant and that the said death was not investigated
upon is clearly defamatory to the reputation and character of
the Complainant as much as it is also false and baseless.
33

67. With reference to another „sannyasi‟ of 18 years of age who is


reported to have attempted suicide by consuming insecticide,
the Complainant respectfully submits state that no such
event took place in the ashram. As such, by falsely depicting
an „act of suicide‟ at the ashram established and administered
by the Complainant, the accused have committed an
irreversible defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

68. It is further stated that it is almost baffling to see that their


publication has put unfettered faith in the letter of a 23-year
old anonymous woman who has seen it fit to express all kinds
of political opinion in a very brief letter.

69. The accused have specifically published:

The letter began this way and it mentioned also that


Nithyananda has evaded paying income tax and she told
us some details about it.

70. It is respectfully submitted that their publication which has


adopted a no-holds-barred style of reporting about all
rumours and baseless allegations concerning the
Complainant has somehow seen it fit to not publish details of
income tax evasion purportedly contained in the said letter.
The Complainant specifically and respectfully states that he
has never evaded payment of taxes on any part of his income
or other proceeds whether under the laws of India or under
the laws of any other country of the world.

71. Their frequent reference to „black money‟ is thoroughly


motivated and is calculated to invite official and government
displeasure at the Complainant. Such reporting can only be
characterized as defamatory to the very hilt.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure C Annexure C1
34

Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 96


Publication:
14-Mar-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
A.Vijay Anand Accused No.15
Vetri Accused No.12
Vai. Kadiravan Accused No.16
Pa Tirumalai Accused No.17
Pa Ekalaivan Accused No. 19

72. The accused have stated:

Ten thousand Crores that was burnt…

Why and for whom was it necessary to trap Nithyananda


in a sex net? The story given by Lenin may have helped
in filing the F.I.R with the police. The truth is, behind this
are the four administrators who are next in rank to
Nithyananda in this same ashram. Even if the estimated
value of the ashram property was two thousand Crores,
the property in 33 countries, the value of the property of
the ashram on Mysore Highway, the land value of the
properties in each district, the amount in the banks
abroad and earnings all together we understand, at a
minimum add upto ten thousand Crores. Fourteen trusts
are being operated by Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam.
Each of these fourteen trusts is operated by a secretary.

73. The Complainant is at a loss to understand why their


publication has been eager to exponentially exaggerate the
wealth of his ashram. In saying that his property was valued
at more than 10,000 Crore Rupees, their publication has
expressed a clear malice and a design to invite popular
disenchantment with his wealth. At the relevant time, the
Complainant did not hold wealth to the extent of 10,000
Crores or even to the extent of a small part of 10,000 Crores.
35

74. The administrator that the accused have cited to produce


much of the damage is an administrator who exists merely in
their imagination. For the purpose of publishing ill-founded
rumours and baseless allegations, the accused have invented
the fiction of an administrator confiding regularly in their
publication various accounts that the accused have
unabashedly published.

75. Their repeated references to some important American all


through their article as well as their further references to a
certain administrator repeated throughout their article are
sheer lies that the accused have invented to give credibility to
their own imagination. Their further speculation on the
Complainant participating in non-existent negotiations is a
mere figment of their imagination. Negotiations were never
held in the first place and certainly not in the manner
described by the accused. Their further report that the Chief
Minister of Karnataka or that several important individuals
known to the Complainant stood in support of the
Complainant is false and baseless.

76. The accused have further stated:

Not knowing which court to send the Xerox of the F.I.R.


of the petition filed by Lawyer Angayarkanni, who filed a
case against Swami Nithyananda on behalf of the
Lawyers Association, finally, they decided to send it to
the court in George Town.

Last Wednesday they had done a research itself on this


for one hour. But till now they have not given the Xerox
of the F.I.R to the petitioner. All together a total of six
petitions; the petition to retrieve his son Meyyirai by his
father from Manali; consumer forums complaints and
others, have been received. Cases have been filed on
charges of rape, cheating, and unnatural sex. In one or
two days the cases are to be shifted to Karnataka.
36

77. The Complainant respectfully submits that no case was ever


filed by the father of a devotee by name Meyyirai.

78. As a whole, their aforesaid article is grossly scandalous,


imaginary and far stated from truth or actual chain of events.
The Complainant‟s reputation as a consequence of their
aforesaid article has been battered unjustly and illegally.

79. The accused have further reproduced from parts of the First
Information Report (FIR). However, instead of being content
with such reproduction, the accused have seen it expedient to
carry on their discussion further by conducting their own
„pseudo investigation‟ and by prophesizing upon the outcome
of the investigation that was due by the police. The accused
have ignored the fact that these complaints to the police
merely represented one side of the controversy and the
accused had no authority of any kind to assume that the
allegations in these police complaints were the truth and the
whole truth.

80. By making such unwarranted assumptions the accused have


clearly damaged the well-earned reputation of the
Complainant. The accused have further carried on their
mission of targeting the Complainant by alienating his
supporters and by eliciting negative and undesirable
comments from his supporters and devotees.

81. The accused possessed no justification of any kind to elicit


public opinion to the extent that the severe punishment of
death penalty should be visited upon the Complainant for his
alleged infraction as portrayed in the morphed video. Having
elicited such opinion, the fact that the accused have so
prominently published it speaks to the partisan and vicious
nature of their reporting.

82. Their reproduction of the words of one Mr. Arjun Sampath,


the head of Hindu Makkal Katchi, is in utterly bad taste and
37

does not represent a fair comment on an issue that had


become the subject of police investigation. If anything, such
comments did nothing to properly address the perceived
infraction in the entire controversy and were designed to
hasten public distrust and hostility towards the Complainant.
Accordingly, when the accused did elicit from Sri Arjun
Sampath that the Complainant should marry actress
Ranjitha, the accused had clearly transgressed all norms of
acceptable reporting. As such, the accused have committed
an irreversible defamation of the character of the
Complainant.

83. Their further reproduction of unsavory comments by one


psychiatrist, Dr. Shalini were similarly unwarranted and
grossly disproportionate to the perceived infraction in the
current controversy.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure D Annexure D1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 97
Publication:
18-Mar-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Vetri Accused No. 12
A.V.Anand Accused No. 15
Charu Nivedita Accused No. 10

84. The accused have produced a picture of a person purporting


to be the Complainant walking out of a shower room with very
minimum clothing.

85. The photograph purportedly depicting a visual of a naked


picture of the Complainant is a visual that the accused might
have procured from the perpetrators of this controversy.
38

86. By publishing a visual procured from conspirators who have


no regard to the privacy or criminal laws of our country, the
accused have abandoned their journalistic ethic for the
purpose of appealing to the debased and prurient interests of
some of their readers. It serves no part of public interest for a
magazine to publish a naked photograph of a religious
practitioner. Therefore, the publication of the same is without
any lawful excuse and has contributed to a complete
defamation of the Complainant.

87. The entire article is created with no objective whatsoever to


inform their readers about any issue of public interest but
has been created for the sole purpose of eroding the well-
earned reputation of the Complainant. The accused have
repeatedly stated that the law enforcement was not keen to
apprehend the Complainant due to extraneous
considerations. Such a remark is unfounded. The accused
clearly knew that the Complainant has not been accorded any
degree of favour or lenience by any member of the law
enforcement. Rather, a baseless and meritless complaint
which was more in the nature of a political opinion was used
by law enforcement to eventually arrest and incarcerate the
Complainant.

88. Their article blurs the line between making a direct attack on
the Complainant and reproducing from an allegation
contained in the FIR. By eliminating such distinction, their
article ceases to be a fair report of events that affect public
interest. Rather, their article has taken on the role of a direct
but unjustified attack upon the reputation of the
Complainant.

89. The accused have cited unnamed police officers to give


credence to their imagination. The accused had a duty to
realize that no police officer could have so openly asserted to
any media member that:
39

“Nithyananda's sex interests are giving us a surprise.


Nithyananda has sexual relationships with both men and
women. It is rare to see such bi-sexual people. He has
been indulging in homosexual relationship with Swami
Vimalananda in the ashram. Vimalananda who was
shocked by this has left the ashram.”

90. As the accused could clearly notice themselves, no


investigation of any kind was conducted either by the Tamil
Nadu police or the Karnataka police as on the date of their
article. As such, it was highly impossible and improbable for
a police officer to talk to their publication with such degree of
certainty as is possible only after commencing a proper
investigation into the allegations against the Complainant. As
the accused clearly were further aware, as of 18-Mar-2010,
the date of their aforesaid publication, the only event that had
taken place on the part of the police was that the Tamil Nadu
police had prima facie concluded that the events narrated by
the Complainants in their FIR were events that might have
occurred within the jurisdiction of the State of Karnataka.
Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu police through its Director
General of Police (DGP) had forwarded the complaints to the
Karnataka DGP. As such, by 18-Mar-2010, no police officer
whether from the State of Karnataka or from the State of
Tamil Nadu was in any position to conduct any extent of
investigation so as to assert to the accused, statements that
the accused have attributed to an „unnamed police officer‟.
Therefore, a thorough criminal intent to permanently damage
the well-earned reputation of the Complainant is clearly
evidenced from their article for which the accused bear the
complete legal responsibility.

91. The accused have further stated:

Meanwhile we got the full length unedited videos which


included many racy scenes shot in Nithyananda's
40

bedroom in Bidadi near Bengaluru. We cannot describe


these videos fully to our users. That much of obscenity
and awkwardness are included in the video. In the eyes
of the camera which was not switched off for 3 days, 72
hours of the saamiyar's amorous activities have been
recorded. Now the CD rolls on.

92. The accused have quoted Sri Chinmaya Somasundaram,


State coordinator of Vishwa Hindu Parishad that:

"In the Indian Ocean wherein millions and millions of


water droplets join, drainage water is also included. But
the ocean is always ocean. Hindu Religion is also similar
to it”.

93. The accused ought to have known that at the relevant time,
whoever was speaking to the accused had before them
nothing more than plain allegations and certain doctored
videos the authenticity of which was indeed doubted by
many. Yet, by eliciting extremely negative comment from
certain persons and by unabashedly publishing the same, the
accused have contributed to needless defamation of the
Complainant. In the above reference attributed to Sri.
Chinmaya Somasundaram, to compare the Complainant to
drainage water was utterly contemptuous and grossly
scandalous.

94. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has done


enormous work for the revival of the Vedic tradition and no
individual at that relevant time possessed any basis to
discount all the great work of the Complainant in light of
emergence of a dubious video and unfounded allegations
coming from questionable individuals and to launch a tirade
against the Complainant.

95. The accused have further stated:


41

Six months before, I knew nothing about Nithyananda,


who is now being talked about sensationally. I have only
seen his portrait in magazines; I have however not read
his essays. Generally in Tamil Nadu saffron has little
respect. This is because many of the saffron-clad ones
do not live with the solemnity that ought to be attached
to the saffron attire. There are many examples starting
from Premananda. These saffron-robed ones indulge in
crimes like rape, kidnap, and murder, which a
commoner can‟t even imagine. This is why the common
man has lost respect for the saffron. Premananda
Swami is in jail serving double life-term for the crimes of
rape and murder. We have seen in TV channel two guys
in saffron robes fighting with each other, like rowdies in
the thoroughfare, in full view of the public.

96. The Complainant respectfully submits that their comparison


of the Complainant with Swami Premananda is grossly
inaccurate. The accused were clearly aware that Swami
Premananda was adjudged guilty by a court of law and no
court had, at that point of time or even as of this day seen it
proper to cast any aspersion on the character of the
Complainant, let alone convict him for any such infraction.

97. The accused have further stated:

Frequently we read in the newspapers sensational news


about the „dadas‟. These dadas, who indulge in crimes
like, rape, kidnap and murder, are either eliminated in
police encounter, or brutally killed by their own
fraternity. None of them lives beyond the age of forty.

98. The Complainant respectfully submits that their inaccurate


comparison of the Complainant with antisocial elements who
commit heinous acts was unwarranted and appears to have
been done for the sole purpose of inviting public hatred of the
Complainant.
42

99. The accused have further stated:

Nithyananda exploited this spiritual tradition and


people‟s faith in God, and attained a high pulpit, by
amassing Crores in just six years. Now because of
lustful indulgence he has fallen from that high pedestal.
What I heard about Nithyananda six months before
made me think that he is also another Premananda.
That he always remains in the company of beautiful
young girls was what I heard about him. Because I
came to know that even in his private room he spends
his time with the young girls, I had no contact with him.
I kept telling my friends that it is only a matter of time
before he was caught like Premananda.

100. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is clearly


dubious on their part to have stated in the aforesaid manner
without realizing that as a journalist with a duty to report any
untoward or illegal incident that the accused came across,
the accused said nothing about the Complainant‟s affairs in
any of their previous writings or for that matter, the accused
did not alert the law enforcement. Reasonable people would
consider that a journalist who would come across unsavory or
illegal activities would always bring the same to light in their
own publication or would promptly alert the law enforcement.

101. The fact that the accused did neither is itself indicative that
the accused witnessed no such thing as the accused have
claimed in above. Therefore, the accused have simply
manufactured certain past events for the purpose of
influencing their readers‟ opinion in the present.

102. The accused have further stated:

Nithyananda never gives money to others, only others


give money to him.
43

103. The Complainant respectfully submits that the certainty with


which the accused have stated the above is wholly
unwarranted in view of the fact that the charitable nature of
the Complainant‟s activities is too well known to the world.
The accused were clearly aware by reason of their own prior
visit to the ashram of the Complainant that enormous
charitable work is done at the ashrams established and
administered by him. All of such charitable activities involve
considerable sums of money. Therefore, to assert with
absolute certainty in a mass-read publication that the
Complainant never gave any money to others is not merely to
distort the truth but to also trifle his enormous reputation for
charity.

104. The accused have further stated:

When I first met him in a crowd, I bent to touch his feet.


At once a monk who stood by Nithyananda stopped me.
Later on I came to know that, to touch his feet there has
to be a donation of Rupees 25,000/-. I saw nothing
amiss in that, because the money so collected went into
serving the society, they said. I kept mum at the
mention of school, colleges, hospital etc.

105. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is extremely


demeaning to say of a spiritual person that he would not let
any person touch his feet unless he received a donation of
some amount. To characterize the Complainant in such
manner is absolutely defamatory in further view of the fact
that no such condition has ever been imposed by the
Complainant and that thousands of individuals in any given
week would touch his feet and obtain his blessings without
ever being subject to any form of financial demand or duress.

106. The accused have further stated:

Besides, one thousand to five thousand Rupees were


collected per head from the public to hear his lectures.
44

So far as he was concerned there was nothing free. I


listened to his lectures only after paying for each one of
them. Apart from this, there was another daylight
robbery in the name of house visit. The fee for
Nithyananda‟s visit was Rupees One Lakh. Do we not
need money for education, medical attention of the
poor, they will argue. My good luck, since I did not have
that much money, I escaped. However a sum of Rupees
One Lakh did go from me to the fake saamiyar‟s
treasury.

107. The Complainant respectfully submits that every part of what


the accused have stated in the above paragraph is false. An
overwhelming number of the Complainant‟s public lectures
are free and no money is collected from events in which
admission is free. As such, to allege that between Rs.1000 to
Rs. 5000 was collected per day from the public is grossly
scandalous. The accused were clearly mistaken to think that
the accused had to pay for any of his lectures. As such, it is
asserted by the Complainant that no sum of money was ever
demanded from the accused for attending any of his lectures.

108. Accordingly, the accused could not have paid any such sum
that was not even demanded of the accused.

109. The Complainant further submits that all donations that were
ever received by the trusts established by the Complainant
are properly accounted for and periodic returns are submitted
to the appropriate statutory authorities. The sum of Rupees
One Lakh that was provided by the accused to a trust
established by the Complainant was towards a provision of a
tour to KumbhMela. The accused, Charu Niveditha, made the
said contribution voluntarily and willingly for the benefit of
his wife‟s desire to travel to KumbhMela. Nevertheless, the
said sum of money was refunded to the accused upon
knowledge that the proposed trip had to be cancelled.
45

110. The fact that the accused have conveniently omitted to state
that the said sum of Rupees One Lakh was refunded to the
accused pursuant to the cancellation of the tour of
KumbhMela is itself indicative of the vicious nature of their
reporting.

111. As one would see it, if only the accused were eager to state
the facts in their article, the accused were bound to state that
the said sum of Rupees One Lakh was refunded. However, by
omitting material particulars that were within their own
knowledge, their article takes on the role of a criminal
attempt to malign the fair name of the Complainant.

112. Similarly, the accused have also stated:

After paying Rupees one lakh to the Nithyananda


ashram, out of a sum of Rs.2,50,000/- that I had
received as leave salary after my 25 years of service in a
government department, Avanthika got ready for the
journey. Mother of a well-known Tamil Actress was also
part of this group.

113. The accused were clearly aware that there was no financial
detriment of any kind to the accused or to their side by
reason of the initial remittance of Rupees One Lakh towards
the KumbhMela trip. The entire sum of Rupees One Lakh was
returned to the accused without any deduction by the date of
the publication of their aforesaid article. Their deliberate
exclusion of the said detail is inexcusable.

114. The accused have further stated:

A man having sex with a woman is indeed his private


affair. We have no business to poke our nose in it. But
you know what Swami Nithyananda has all along been
saying? Not only has he been saying that he was a
celibate, but that he was an incarnation next to Shree
Rama and Shree Krishna. There is proof of this in the
46

odd three hundred books he had written. Nithyananda


has the capacity to lecture, nonstop, for ten hours a
day. He would keep going from one class to another. I
have seen him taking lessons, ceaselessly, on yoga,
meditation, modern science etc. for hundreds of foreign
students. (But it is now that I know that at night there
are actresses to massage his legs and other parts).

115. The Complainant respectfully submits that in none of the 300


odd books that the accused are supposed to have perused,
will the accused find any reference to the Complainant
proclaiming himself as an incarnation of God or of being a
celibate. As such, it was not warranted on their part to state
that the Complainant is a dishonorable individual who would
do in private, the exact opposite of what he advocates in
public. The Complainant further submits that he would never
advocate anything contrary to what his own private life
mirrored.

116. The accused have further stated:

Like my wife Avanthika, 300 people have paid the


money for the KumbhMela trip. That popular actor‟s
mother is also one of them. 300 Lakhs means 3 Crore
rupees. To go to KumbhMela and back, will it cost one
lakh for one person? Yes.

117. The Complainant further submits that, as already stated


before, all of the 300 individual participants to the proposed
KumbhMela trip were refunded with the entire sum tendered
by them – Rupee One Lakh per person. The accused
conveniently and deliberately ignored the said act of refund.
As to whether it would cost Rupee One Lakh person to visit
KumbhMela and to return therefrom, the accused have
intentionally and deliberately ignored the value-added
services that were provided as part of the package. If the
accused truly intended to ascertain if the trust established by
47

the Complainant managed to make exorbitant profits from


these trips, the accused could have simply visited the
accounts section and sought from them, detailed information
as to the costs involved in such trips and the reason why
such trips were priced at Rs.1 Lakh per person. If only the
accused had engaged in any meaningful exercise of such
kind, the accused would have obtained information that
would run contrary to all the suggestions that the accused
have made in their aforesaid article.

118. The accused have further stated:

Now is it known how saamiyar earned 3000 Crores in


six years.

119. The Complainant submits that the above assertion is grossly


scandalous. The accused have imputed a dishonest practice
upon the part of the Complainant on one hand while on the
other hand, the accused have exponentially overcast the
wealth at which the trusts established by him are valued.
Their design is grossly defamatory to the reputation of the
Complainant.

120. The accused have further stated:

More than my embarrassment, Avanthika‟s life is


important. Then how did Avanthika escape from the
ashram? It will be like a detective novel. I will tell you in
the next issue.

121. The Complainant submits that the above assertion by the


accused is thoroughly defamatory in nature and character.
Smt. Avanthika was at the relevant time, a valued devotee of
the ashram and to suggest that she was in some sort of
confinement and that she had to escape therefrom and that
the mode of such escape was such as is found in a detective
novel is utterly defamatory and false. No person is confined in
48

any manner at the ashrams established and administered by


the Complainant.

122. The Complainant further submits that Smt. Avanthika, just


like any other devotee at the relevant time, was free to enter
the ashram at reasonable hours and to exit therefrom at her
will without the leave or permission of any person. As such, it
is plainly absurd on the part of the accused to state that
Avanthika had to escape from the ashram. At no point of
time, was she under any sort of confinement and the concept
of confinement is practically unknown at the ashrams
established and administered by the Complainant whether in
India or elsewhere.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure E Annexure E1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 98
Publication:
21-Mar-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No. 10
Vai Kadiravan Accused No. 16

123. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is incredibly


outrageous that the accused have published a fictitious
interview that never did take place. At the relevant time, the
Complainant did not speak to the accused or to any other
person from their publication. Yet, the accused have most
criminally fabricated and concocted an interview out of thin
air. The publication of a false pretext and fabricated
statements of the Complainant in the form of an interview is
an act that deserves a thorough invocation of the criminal
defamation law of our country.
49

124. The Complainant further submits that, by concocting and


fabricating an interview that never did happen, the accused
have most clearly exhibited a thorough desire and design to
erode to the hilt, the reputation and good name of the
Complainant.

125. Further, the Complainant submits that the questions that the
accused have posed to themselves and the answers that the
accused have fabricated and attributed to the Complainant
are of such egregious nature that no respectable person who
would chance upon such a report would consider the
Complainant in a respectable light thereafter.

126. Further, the Complainant submits that, by stating that the


Complainant did contact the accused from some place in
Uttar Pradesh, the accused did generate an impression within
law enforcement that the Complainant was evading the
process of law and that he was on the run as a fugitive -
factors that eventually contributed to the denial of
anticipatory bail by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramnagar
district, State of Karnataka.

127. As such, by concocting an interview that never did take place


and by structuring such a fabricated interview in a manner so
as to mislead their readers, law enforcement and the
judiciary, the accused have contributed to irreparable injury
and damage to the liberty and reputation of the Complainant.

128. Their fictitious interview that has been most unabashedly


published by the accused runs as under:

‘THAT IS A RESEARCH IN SPIRITUALITY’

‘IT IS TRUE WHAT HAPPENED DID IN FACT HAPPEN

WHAT NEXT?’

Nithyananda’s direct interview to Kumudam


Reporter
50

Where is Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda?

He is the same swami who has been recognized and


watched over the Youtube as the most viewed spiritual
guru at 33 years of age. And yet he is the very same
person who has been closely watched all over the world
for the past more than one week, due to the new
sensational media coverage.

Even though suddenly he has spoken in many English


TV channels, what exactly does he want to convey to the
Tamil viewers about the video

Just then, in all this excitement, all of a sudden, the


swami himself contacted us over phone from a distant
place, somewhere in Uttar Pradesh.

“For the first time for Tamil magazines, on this matter, I


am opening out my heart to Kumudam Reporter only”, so
said the Swami and continued, “I have learnt many
dimensions of life through fame and defame.” He was in
his usual self without any sign of being affected, and
started speaking with his usual blissful smile with
inspiration.

What exactly happened?

“A very big conspiracy has been hatched. Video camera


has been fixed in my room and secretly they have
recorded. What is the necessity to manipulate my life,
misrepresent things, correct with graphics, and defame
me? What is the necessity to bring disrepute to me?”

“We always have a tradition of giving the benefit of doubt


in matters pertaining to one‟s personal life, to anyone
who has done great service in any one field to the
society. I have offered services in many areas. I have
authored two hundred books. As for oratory, I have
spoken for 7,000 hours. If you take the medical field, I
have done numerous researches in the fields of yoga and
51

meditation. I have given contribution also in the scientific


areas. Even more, through research, I have published
many books which deal with painless birth and easy
delivery through the methods of yoga. I have given
contributed in many areas but just because of the only
reason that I have contributed in the spiritual physical,
mental, emotional and spiritual explanations and
solutions for many of the sex problems and sexual
dysfunctions. I have always shown myself only as a
spiritual researcher to the outer world. In this way, I have
contributed in many areas but just because of the only
reason that I have contributed in the spiritual field also,
without even verifying, without basic decency, I have
been denied all basic human rights; the rumours related
to my personal life have been spread and I have been
defamed.”

“The other person who was in the video (Ranjitha) has


told very clearly in Kumudam Reporter itself, “I was
doing service to Swami.” In what way is it just, capturing
the personal life of two persons, and that too the
happenings inside the bed room?”

“They have done this only because we have no authority


or financial, political, or legal clout. We are being crushed
to this extent only because we are an ordinary spiritual
organization, social service organization, not having the
political or money clout.”

“Within a period of one hour our ashrams were beaten,


broken and burnt in 8 locations.”

“The ashram in Thiruvannamalai, is a place where every


day free food happens for thousand people. Weekly, we
give medical treatment to 1000 people. All the Sannyasis
and Sannyasin is there were attacked. But no one
52

opened their mouth regarding the injustice that was done


to me?”

Why do you think they are doing that?

“Interfering in another person‟s life, unnecessarily


blowing it up beyond limits, misrepresenting, abusing –
all these crimes were executed against me. Just to enjoy
this, a few people have a mental disease. This is a
mental illness. That is the reason.”

“But beyond all this, ashrams which are social service


organizations and Dhyanapeetams were damaged by
antisocial elements. In all these situations, I bow down
with gratitude to my friends and devotees and disciples
who abiding by my words, were very silent.”

“They tried in many ways to somehow make my disciples


indulge in antisocial activities. Many people put in effort
to somehow make my disciples and Dhyanapeetams
indulge in violence. I bow down with great gratitude to all
my lakhs of Dhyanapeetams, disciples and devotees who
were calm and did not even protect themselves, or show
any sort of opposition or resistance to all their efforts.”

About that CD…….?

“How much of graphics and other deliberate insertions


are mixed in that CD is being studied in laboratories.
Seventy five percent of that CD is done using graphics
and impostors. Very soon, having the analysis reports in
my hand, without hiding anything, I will be talking about
the entire truth to Kumudam Reporter. It is a research in
spirituality. I will tell rest later. The truth about this will
be known when I write a book about it. If it is told now,
they will again abuse it. But since it is seen that the
people don‟t like such efforts in spirituality, I hereby
declare I will stop such efforts. But going beyond that, I
want to talk to you about defamation done to me.”
53

“I have always been seen as a spiritual researcher. There


are some who had stuffed some unwanted expectations
into my personal life and when these were not coming
forth, they themselves concluded that I was not fulfilling
their expectation, and started to abuse and defame me
and spread malicious propaganda.”

“I will tell you an important thing.”

“It is perfectly justified, if such expectations on my


personal life is seen in my devotees, disciples and
ashramites who have sacrificed their life for my sake and
living with me. But actually, they have no expectations on
my personal life!”

“I will now share an important thing with you. We


conducted a survey among the Dhyanapeetam devotees.
Do you know what the result was? 92 percent of the
devotees are not disturbed or doubtful in any manner
whatsoever. They are firm. 6 percent of my devotees are
sad that their relatives and friends are talking ill of them.
Only the remaining 2 percent who had not been
encouraging me even when I was doing good work, did
not inspire me in any way, who did not help in any way
are now talking ill about me.”

“I am receiving a lot of encouragement and consolation


messages from many spiritual establishments all over
India.

My sincere thanks are due to the Chief Minister


Kalaignar, who expressed his disapproval over the
repeated telecast of this video. But there are some
persons who are going beyond this and trying to spread
that this is the situation and spreading many rumors and
complaints against me.

It is to be noted that nothing illegal has happened in this


matter. But using this situation, they are spreading a lot
54

of rumors. They also try to create a sense of deep fear


both inside and outside Dhyanapeetam.”

Ranjitha…?

“She herself has given an interview to your Kumudam


Reporter and has told that she was serving me. That is
the truth. I was not feeling well for a week at the time the
video was taken. She served me with deep love,
devotion, and motherly love. That is all. That only they
are writing according to their whim.”

Is Ranjitha staying with you only now?

“No. I have come to Prayag, Rishikesh and Haridwar, on


account of the KumbhMela. As alleged by some persons, I
am not under cover. I am with my devotees. I am blissful
only. Within another two or three day I will come back to
the Bengaluru ashram. At that time, I will invite you. We
can have a face to face talk. Ask whatever you want. I
will answer with evidence.”

Who according to you are working against you?

“I don‟t want to blame anybody. I have done nothing


wrong, but without analyzing, I was accused. But I do
not wish to accuse anyone. I feel that not even my enemy
should be subject to the droha I was subject to. I do not
wish to blame anybody”.

Finally?

“Learning the lessons from the experiences of life and


enhancing it is life. Even in this predicament, I am
concentrating only on what lessons to learn, how to
enhance things.”

With this, Nithyananda ended this interview.

We could expect that for the benefit of our readers, very


soon, for our readers, he will talk in great detail. She
served me with devotion and motherly love.
55

129. The Complainant respectfully submits that the aforesaid act


of the accused is a disgrace to the respected profession of
journalism in this country.

130. The fact that the Complainant was in dire distress at the
relevant time and that his ashram administrators were
desperate to protect life and limb at his various properties
and ashrams has been most conveniently exploited by the
accused and their publication in the name of permissive
journalism.

131. The voluminous interview that the accused have generated


and fabricated, speaks volumes about the depth of their
hostility towards the Complainant.

132. The accused have attributed to the Complainant statements


that the sex seen in the morphed video “is a research in
spirituality.”

133. By saying so, the accused have contributed to rampant


ridicule contempt and hatred of the Complainant.
Considering that their publication is well circulated, the
Complainant had become the laughing stock of countless
men and women pursuant to the publication of their fake
interview.

134. The letters to the Magazine editor consequent to the


publication of that fictitious interview clearly reveal the extent
of damage that was inflicted upon the Complainant by their
actions.

135. One such letter to their editor reads as under:

“Aaha…the explanation that Ranjithananda(!) gave for


„service‟ has caused goose bumps. Like her for service,
sorry for devotion, how many women have started out, I
wonder…?”

- S.Gopalan, Chennai
56

“It is sure that the serial „Sarasam Sallabam Saamiyar‟


Charu Nivedita is writing in Kumudam Reporter is going
to give weekly many ground breaking things. Kumudam
Reporter always takes the first place in delivering the
right serial at the right time.”

- K. Balajganesh, Kovilaampoondi

136. The accused have further stated:

Even if you put him in prison he will heal the Dons


there and become a Don of the Dons!

137. The Complainant respectfully submits that the aforesaid


statement is most blatantly defamatory. The accused have
connoted that the Complainant utilizes his healing powers to
first heal a person and thereafter seeks to exploit the healed
person by abusing the gratitude the healed person shows
towards the healer.

138. The accused have further stated:

Nithyananda has borrowed Yoga from Sage Pathanjali


and Knowledge from Buddha and used it for his selfish
gains.

139. The Complainant respectfully states that the accused


certainly were aware that Patanjali‟s Yoga sutras and
Buddha‟s discourses are not patented and are freely available
for any person to peruse and to implement. Under such
circumstance, nothing prevented the accused to simply
preach and to share with the world the benefits of Patanjali
Yoga Sutras and Buddha‟s discourses. Similarly, whoever
wishes to help the world is free to do likewise. The methods
adopted by the Complainant are not a straightforward
application of the Patanjali‟s Yoga sutras and Buddha‟s
discourses. Each spiritual seeker is unique and so is the
Complainant. As such, to erode the merit of the Complainant,
the accused have published such baseless conclusions.
57

140. Further, for a fair assessment of the Complainant‟s depth and


knowledge of spirituality, one would have to engage for a
substantial length of time upon the discourses and sermons
of the Complainant. It is evident that the accused could not
bother to do so particularly when the accused would willingly
concoct and publish an interview that never did take place.

141. As such, the accused‟s repeated denigration of the character


of the Complainant is plainly defamatory and serves no public
interest or for that matter has any legitimate connection with
public discourse and debate.

142. The accused have further stated:

One day, I was listening to Nithyananda‟s discourse (not


for free, the admission was Rs. 5000!). There is no need
to extoll saamiyar‟s speaking abilities. The speech has
the power to hypnotize everyone who listens. To add to
that, he cracked a lot of jokes in-between. There were
many foreigners who were close. The Saamiyar was
talking in Tamil. The talk was translated live for the
foreigners. They had the instruments for that fitted onto
their ears. Those white people were laughing for the
jokes even before I did. Even if it was a translation,
surprised how it could be done so quickly, I also wore
the headphones. My surprise increased.

143. The Complainant respectfully submits that, as stated earlier,


the claim of the accused to have paid to witness a spiritual
discourse of the Complainant is evidently false.

144. Further the repeated insistence of the accused that the


Complainant possesses the ability to hypnotize people with
his speech is plainly offensive and derogatory. It never has
been the motto or desire of the Complainant to charm or to
hypnotize people who come to him. The Complainant
respectfully submits he is in the honest pursuit of a spiritual
58

path. He does not wish to charm or to attract spiritual


seekers and would never employ his skills and talent in aid of
such unhealthy practices.

145. Further, to say that foreign devotees were laughing even


before the sermon was translated for their benefit is to
indicate to their readers that the Complainant devises
artificial methods and appearances to entice spiritual seekers.

146. The accused have further stated:

As the saamiyar spoke, the girl translated in beautiful


English word for word at cyclonic speeds. I interviewed
the girl during intermission. She has just finished her
college studies and being attracted by the Swami's talk
and healing had become a sannyasi in the ashram. She
must have been just 22. I don't think even a country's
Prime Minister would have such an opportunity. Like
this hundreds of efficient women have been made
sannyasis by the saamiyar.

When I wonder what all of their fate would be now, my


heart is troubled. Even their college certificates would
be in the ashram only. What is their future? How much
of a notorious act is Nithyananda‟s, after having
preached Brahmacharyam to these folks, having
amorous play with actresses?

147. The Complainant respectfully submits that the connotation


from the aforesaid paragraph is plainly offensive. By saying
that even the Prime Minister would not have had the
opportunity to receive professional and linguistic services of
young girls, the accused have clearly indicated that the
Complainant is bound to exploit sexually and physically, the
young women that the accused have described in their
paragraphs.
59

148. By expressing concern at the imagined fate of these girls, the


accused have indicated that these girls live a life of servitude
at the ashram. Their offensive manner of writing is plainly
derogatory and has indeed caused severe damage to the
reputation of the Complainant.

149. The accused have further stated:

The Saamiyar has written this in the book 'Jeevan


Mukti'. Apart from this he has emphasized this in over
1000 discourses. I once asked him directly: “Swami, can
women take up Sannyas when they are just 20?” (I used
to call him Swami then. Only now I know that he is not
Swami but a saamiyar!)

This is the story he told in reply to the question. Like


this he has thousands of stories. This is where he won
over me who simply thought that he had read a lot.

Once Buddha came to Kapilavastu where he was born


and raised. He had a begging bowl in his hand. And
Kavi dress on his waist. Disciples with him. His wife
Yashodarai asked her maid, 'What is the commotion in
the street?' When she knew it was the Buddha, she did
not go. But instead called her son Rahul and showed
the Buddha to him. “The person who looks like a king
though he has a begging bowl. He is your dad! Go tell
him that you are his heir.”

Rahul was born on the same day when Buddha left the
palace in search of enlightenment. He fell at Buddha's
feet and told him what his mother had said. Buddha
lifted him up, and with a smile, replaced his woven
garments with saffron one.

Rahul was 7 then. In this way Buddha gave his rightful


inheritance to his son. Rahul was the only kid to join
Buddha's Sangha. (Alright, did Buddha roll around with
actresses like you?)
60

Now do you realize what a great cheat Nithyananda is?


This false sannyasi kidnapped children using stories
like this. The answer that former actress Raga Sudha
gave me is another example as to how he and his
disciples will cheat the world with their speech.

150. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is utterly


unfortunate that the accused should find a twisted meaning
in a very innocuous statement of the Complainant. By
implying a twisted perception of all statements uttered by the
Complainant, the accused have put to disgrace, a very
valuable allegory that he has expressed in his writings.

151. Further, the use of the words „kidnapped children using


stories like this‟ is most devastating to the reputation of the
Complainant. The Complainant does not welcome children as
his ashramites. Further, all of his ashrams strictly follow a
rule forbidding any person to volunteer as an ashramite
unless he or she has completed 18 years of age.

152. The accused have further stated:

One more problem. The 1 lakh that I gave away to the


KumbhMela Yatra with the Swami has not come back.
When I was translating his English books in Tamil, each
day nine or more people would call me from the ashram
enquiring, „Is it done, is it done?‟ and take the life out.
Now there hasn't been any talk in the ashram about the
1 lakh rupees.

153. The Complainant respectfully submits that the disingenuous


reasoning that the accused have employed throughout their
article is clearly evident from the aforesaid paragraph. The
accused did say earlier that the Complainant would never
give money to anybody. Nevertheless, it has been verified that
the accused had indeed received the refund of Rupees One
Lakh. As such, their denial in the face of their personal
61

knowledge is clearly deceitful and is a blatant attempt to


injure the reputation of the Complainant.

154. The accused have stated in their box message that:

Box Message: He and his disciples will cheat the whole


world with their skill of speech.

155. As such, the box message that the accused have concluded
with is utterly damaging and derogatory of the Complainant‟s
reputation.

156. The accused have further stated:

At Bengaluru, we met an important person belonging to


the ruling B.J.P. He warned asking, “Are you going to
the Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam? The situation is not
conducive there. There is absolutely no possibility to
photograph or conduct interviews there. I believe there
are many rowdies there masquerading as devotees.
There is every chance that with the anger they have upon
media, they would attack you.” Inspite of this warning
our journey continued.

157. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


simply continued their perpetual hostility by bringing forth an
imaginary BJP politician to simply express their own
malicious viewpoint.

158. The accused were further aware that until the said date, no
journalist had ever complained of mistreatment or
maltreatment at any of the ashrams of the Complainant and
even during the height of the scandal days, most television
channels were beaming visuals of media men capturing the
destruction of the property at the Bangalore ashram.

159. As such, by prophesying that there would be unsavory


elements masquerading as devotees, the accused have merely
62

laid down the foundation for more deceitful and imaginary


encounters at the Dhyanapeetam ashram at Bangalore.

160. The accused have further stated:

Very near to the entrance gate of the Bidadi


Dhyanapeetam and adjacent to it there is a posh and
modern room with glass partitions and windows. There
we were able to see modern communicating equipments
such as intercom, and Nithyananda‟s principal
devotees, otherwise called Maharaj were attending to
the monitoring job. At a distance, approximately one
and half kilometers away from this gate, Dhyanapeetam
buildings appeared to us as small dots. Very near to
that place some big buildings are also being built. From
this main entrance point it will be very difficult to gain
entry without the permission of Dhyanapeetam. At the
same time, by seeing we were able to understand easily
that it would be more difficult for anybody to come out
from the Dhyanapeetam.

161. The Complainant respectfully submits that the above version


simply fits with their exaggerated version of the
Complainant‟s properties and wealth - to say that the accused
could glance into a distance of one and a half kilometers away
from the gate to see additional gates and barriers. In fact,
soon after the entrance gate, the next barricade is situated at
a distance of about 300 meters from the first gate and is
clearly visible from the first gate.

162. The imagination of the accused that any person from inside
the ashram could not easily walk out is wholly misplaced. It
is further surprising to wonder why the accused would not
simply tell the security guards that the accused had come to
seek his wife Smt. Avanthika. Had the accused only done so
much, the security guards would have ensured that the
accused would have been put in touch if only she was within
63

the ashram and the matter would have simply ended there
without giving the accused any further room to perpetuate a
false story. Quite amazingly, the accused does not seem to
ask, based on his own report, for his wife at the gate at all. It
is so much at odds that while on the one hand the accused
expresses enormous concern for the safety of his wife while
the accused sits and functions at Chennai, the accused would
not bother to ask for her while at the gates of Nithyananda
Dhyanapeetam at Bidadi in the State of Karnataka. Such
contradiction appears to be a convenient method to
perpetuate more false stories concerning the Complainant.

163. Further, had the accused only sought for his wife at the gate,
the accused would have had no occasion to complain at all.
His wife would have been put in touch with the accused –
provided that she was indeed present at the ashram premises
at the relevant time.

164. The accused have thereafter stated that:

At the main entrance gate, we met Nithya Shivananda


one of the principal devotees of Nithyananda, and
informed him of the purpose of our visit. He contacted
somebody over the telephone and told us, “What can I
do if you come here all of a sudden? You should have
talked with our Secretary and fixed up an appointment
before coming here. Now he is not here. So you can‟t go
inside. And there is no one who is in a position to give an
interview to you.” And then he blocked the way and did
not allow us to proceed further. We told him that we are
there only because of the fact that Nithyananda in one
interview had told that everyone was free to come to the
Dhyanapeetam to know the truth. He thought over this
for some time and gave us two cell phone numbers. He
said, „Talk to the Secretary through this and get his
permission‟.
64

But why I don‟t know, that ayyah did not accept our
call. After a short while, a sturdy and rough looking
young sannyasi came there on a two wheeler.
Shivananda received the two wheeler from him and
mumbled something to him. Shivananda then went
inside the peetam. The sannyasi approached us.

He then started talking to us- “Why do you stand here?


Can you not understand when you are told once? Should
we repeat again and again? You cannot see anybody
now. Enough of trusting these media persons and getting
cheated. You tell us that you will publish our side of the
version but then you are writing only cheaply about us.
Whatever our Swamiji has told in the interview, we have
no instruction to allow you to enter. For us, the safety of
the womenfolk, children without support and above all
the safety of our Swamiji. If agreeable for you, you can
leave your cell phone number with me. If by chance,
permission is given, I will call you.” We did so.

We waited approximately for more than three and half


hours at the main gate itself. In spite that, we did not
receive any positive answer. On the contrary, a sense of
fear developed in us as a group of well built rough
Swamis in sannyasi clothes came and stood near us.
We had a feeling that it may not be safe for us to stay
there any longer. As we felt the inner warning, we left
the place.

Contrary to the information emanating that


Dhyanapeetam was functioning as always, to what we
saw directly, there was not a bit of connection.
Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam which has a gala
atmosphere, with verses and devotional songs and
devotees working around in cheer, it looked like a
desert. Even though Nithyananda has told that
journalists could visit the ashram anytime to know the
65

truth, the reality was that not a fly or crow could enter.
But some people belonging to that locality strongly said
that Nithyananda was very much inside the peeta.

165. The Complainant respectfully submits that all ashramites at


the gates are always instructed to be very respectful to every
person who appears at the gates. As to limited restriction on
media personnel at the relevant time, such restriction might
have been imposed for the sole purpose of ensuring that some
trouble-makers and unsavory elements from the locality
would not barge into the premises on the pretext of being
media personnel. It is improbable that any person manning
the gate would have spoken with such rudeness to any
visitor; even to those without prior appointment.

166. The security staff at the relevant time having been


interrogated by the Complainant, they have flatly denied every
allegation leveled against them by the accused. It is quite
surprising that the accused would not shoot photographs of
the so called „Rough Swami‟s in sannyasi clothes‟. There are
no such rough Swami‟s in Sannyasi clothes.

167. The security at the Dhyanapeetam entrance is no more


vigilant than is the security at any other religious institution.

168. The Complainant denies on ever having counseled the


accused on how to control his overflowing lust from his body
and mind. The Complainant clearly understands the
complicated nature of physical lust and he would never
advocate methods such as avoidance of garlic, onions, ginger,
chillies, salt, non-vegetarian food and alcohol in one‟s diet for
the purpose of controlling lust in one‟s body – though such a
form of abstinence is often practiced by his devotees. To the
contrary, the Complainant has often indicated that the
human body may develop lust even while it maintains a
perfectly controlled diet. It is not the nature of the
Complainant to offer such bogus counseling to any person
66

who walks into his doorstep. The Complainant is a man of


measured speech and he wholly denies the giving of any such
hurried and ill-thought out counseling.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure F Annexure F1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 99
Publication:
25-Mar-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

169. The accused have further stated:

There is a healing course for two days. If you pay


Rs.2000 and attend this two day course, you can also
become a healer. That is, if anyone comes to you with
some disease, by the strength of your healing power and
the healing power that „saamiyar‟ has given you, you
can heal the other person‟s disease.

170. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused was


certainly aware that no person could simply register for a
healing course unless he has had the requisite training and
experience imparted in the following courses: Ananda
Spurana Program, Nithyananda Spurana Program and Bhakti
Spurana Program. As such, to say that it is enough for a
person to pay Rs. 2000 to become a healer from the ashrams
established by the Complainant is both inaccurate and
misleading.

171. The Complainant further submits that the accused have


deliberately painted a very simplistic picture of the training
imparted at ashrams established by the Complainant so as to
support their further statement that science itself assures
67

peace of mind if one were to simply close his eyes for 30


minutes.

172. By omitting material particulars of the training imparted at


the ashrams, the accused have greatly injured the reputation
of the Complainant by conveying a message to their readers
that nothing substantial might have been imparted to pupils
in such training programs.

173. The accused have further stated:

….Many pretty brahmacharinis and Raga Sudha


compelled me to take the healer‟s course…

….But all that I have said, Raga Sudha and those


beautiful brahmacharinis did not understand.

174. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is manifestly


insulting to the numerous dedicated Brahmacharinis at
ashrams established by the Complainant to be described as
„pretty‟ brahmacharinis. The Complainant does not consider
the physical attributes of any devotee in order to determine
whether such a person should be initiated into
„brahmacharya‟. It would be a sheer coincidence that some of
the devotees are considered pretty by subjective standards.
The repeated reference to brahmacharinis in their articles
describing them as „pretty‟ is clearly demeaning to their
dignity and to the dignity of their parents and relatives. It is
further not true to state that a given brahmacharini would
compel another person to do or to abstain from doing
anything. Certain enquiries were made by the Complainant
and it has been most reliably learnt that no brahmacharini
did ever force, much less compel, the accused to consider
enrolling for one or more courses offered at the ashrams
established by the Complainant. As such, their constant
reference to brahmacharinis as „pretty brahmacharinis‟ is a
68

clear attempt to diminish the well-earned name of the


Complainant.

175. The accused have further stated:

They all were brain washed to such an unbelievable


extent. Like a broken tape recorder they kept on
repeating the same thing that they said.

176. The Complainant respectfully submits that as already stated


above, the policy at ashrams established by Nithyananda
Dhyanapeetam is one of spiritual independence and freedom.
If any of the devotees of the Complainant did advocate any
specific practice not palatable to the listener, the same would
have been very regretful. The Complainant has made certain
enquiries and has clearly learnt that no Brahmacharini or
devotee did ever advocate anything that the accused did not
express an interest to know about.

177. The accused have further stated:

Let that be. On March 3rd, I called Avanthika and told


her, „Just starts immediately and quickly come away
from there.‟ To that she said, “Outside all the news
reporters and police are there. I do not know whether
they will think that I am a KumbhMela yathri devotee or
they will think of me otherwise. I do not want any
problems. I will leave when everyone else leaves”. I said,
„Are not husbands writers too? What to do if these
husbands based on what I write about this saamiyar
bring threat to your life?‟

She did not understand what I said. She said, “No, They
will not do that.” Who knows… A saamiyar who
preached brahmacharyam to the whole world, was
rolling in bed with an actress. Who knows what else
damage he would cause? Since I knew it was no point
talking to Avanthika anymore I called on a friend in
69

Bengaluru, Rakesh. I asked him and his friend to go


and get Avanthika from the ashram. Something told me
that a man alone is not enough to go and get Avanthika
out of danger. Rakesh and his girl friend are both in
high positions in their career. They can‟t just take off
like that. But still they both went to get Avanthika
immediately without making a big deal of it. Bidadi
ashram is an hour‟s drive from Bengaluru.

But the one thing that Avanthika told me even in this


state of scary excitement, when she got in touch with
me after this, moved me. She said, “Ask Rakesh to go
back. I cannot leave the 300 people who were supposed
to leave with me for KumbhMela and come away alone.
That would not be right”.

I told Rakesh to head back. Then when I tried reaching


Avanthika, the „switched off‟ message came. This was
when I saw on TV that the Bidadi ashram was being
burnt.

178. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is most regretful


that the accused has abandoned all norms of acceptable
journalism in suggesting that his wife might have been
exploited at Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam in Bangalore. At the
relevant time, Smt. Avanthika was a committed devotee of the
Complainant and the Complainant is deeply aggrieved to see
that no less than her own husband has seen it desirable to
speculate to the world that she might have been brainwashed
at Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam

179. The accused have further stated:

I called Sadananda with great fear. This was the


shocking thing he told me, “Ayah, I fall at your feet and
beg you. Kindly stop putting the series of articles that you
are doing now on Kumudam Reporter”. Sadananda is
swami‟s right hand. All those who fall at swami‟s feet
70

will also fall at Sadananda‟s feet. It is he who said this.


Not only that… Another matter that he told me was
atrocious… For a person like me who writes openly
without censoring anything, for me itself to hear what
he said is delicate. If I write that in Reporter I do not
know if they will they publish it. I will discuss with the
editor and then write about it in the next issue. (My
God! In one article how much suspense only to hold?)

180. The complainant respectfully submits that it has been learnt


from Nithya Sadananda himself that he never did express
anything other than a mere desire to see such blatantly false
stories stop. He has further indicated that he would be
pursuing defamatory remedies at his own behest. It is
inappropriate on their part to say that Nithya Sadananda is
the Complainant‟s right hand or that whoever falls at the
Complainant feet also falls at Nithya Sadananda‟s feet.

181. The Complainant submits that Nithyananda Sadananda is a


trusted and a greatly respected administrator of some of the
trusts established by the Complainant. The Complainant does
not share any level of intimacy with any of his devotees or his
administrators. As to the aspect of his devotees falling at the
feet of Nithya Sadananda, the Complainant knows nothing
and no person who visits the ashram of the Complainant is
ever asked to fall at any person‟s feet.

182. As such, to claim that whoever falls at the Complainant‟s feet


would also fall at Nithya Sadananda‟s feet is to describe a
picture of sycophancy that simply does not exist at the
ashrams established by the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure G Annexure G1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 100
Publication:
71

28-Mar-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

183. The accused have stated:

People were agitated. Ashram is burning with fire.

184. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


provided an impression that the ashram was lit and burnt by
people who were spontaneously agitated by whatever was
shown on television. Such a depiction is wholly false. The
ashram was partially attacked by unsavory paid goons and
criminals who were individually identified later and the
motivation for their criminal acts is believed to be a certain
desire to grab the holy land belonging to the Nithyananda
Dhyanapeetam at a time of severe distress to the inmates
therein.

185. As such, their repeated reference to ashram property being


damaged or destroyed by persons agitated at the turn of
events is without any basis.

186. The accused have further stated:

I dint get angry on the abuses thrown at me, but I was


surprised. I didn‟t understand why they are angry with
me. There is one popular pub in Chennai. I used to visit
there once a week. One day there was too much salt in
chicken -65 (Indians take too much salt and spice in an
unimaginable quantity). I told this to the bearer and he
said sorry and took it away. When brought again still
the salt was too much. I kept it aside. This Saamiyar
matter also I took the same way. We hear one matter, if
we don‟t like this we throw it in dustbin; what more is
there in this?
72

187. The Complainant respectfully submits that the comparison


the accused have drawn between their impression of the
Complainant and their dissatisfaction with some chicken dish
is most insulting to the good name and reputation of the
Complainant. The accused have most clearly abused the
journalistic privilege that has been accorded to them in a
highly despicable manner.

188. The accused have further stated:

I like sannyasis. There is one English proverb - opposite


poles attract. Even in dreams we cannot renounce the
one which we like the most, what else, women! But
these people have renounced that and living, I admire
that, for this reason I have felt the liking towards
sannyasis. We have not seen Ramakrishna, Shirdi
Baba, Ramana Maharishi, and now if we have a master
like them; it‟s our luck, is it not? Now a person is
claiming to be them and performing miracle, that‟s all I
have fallen for it; that is what happened.

I don‟t know why people are attacking me for this.

189. The Complainant respectfully submits that their interest in


him was not kindled by any specific declaration made by him
as to his „brahmacharya‟ or his celibacy. The Complainant
has never seen any need to draw any person to himself by
claiming to be something or the other. The Complainant does
not recall ever having proclaimed himself as ever being a
celibate for the purpose of enticing one or more persons
towards him. As such, if the accused did develop a significant
desire to learn about the Complainant, the same is
attributable to their own desire and not to any specific actions
of the Complainant- simply because the actions of the
Complainant are never geared towards securing any kind of
reaction or conduct from any of his listeners.

190. The accused have further stated:


73

In this state of confusion and anxiety, I dint understand


what to do still I consoled myself with the thought that,
for Avanthika no harm will happen. She is the reason
for that too. She had a strong intuition in her. She was
telling me many times, “After this KumbhMela, we have
to leave swami, something is wrong, I don‟t know what
that is. This is the last time we have to go there.” One or
two days before this Ranjitha matter got out, Avanthika
was telling me with worry, there is something inside
her, telling that this is the last time she might be
coming inside the ashram.

191. The Complainant respectfully submits that based on


subsequent conduct of Smt. Avanthika wherein she was in
touch with some ashramites and she did further meet and
seek blessings of the Complainant, it is evident that the
aforesaid paragraph is false and so, to the knowledge of the
accused.

192. Assuming however that the aforesaid paragraph is indeed


based on actual events, the Complainant would respectfully
submit that the premonition expressed therein did not occur
largely because of the faith and devotion canvassed by Smt.
Avanthika in the character and merit of the Complainant.

193. The accused have further stated:

Reason is, more than Ethiopia, this GOD considered


America as a mother‟s house.

194. The Complainant respectfully submits that the United States


of America is a nation that encourages diversity of religious
beliefs. It is also the place that is very hostile to religious
practitioners who do not sufficiently reflect upon what they
preach or practice. The Complainant holds no attachment to
the United States of America and if he had to spend a
considerable part of any year on that soil, the reason for such
74

stay was simply the desire of his devotees and sponsors at


that location.

195. The Complainant has not earned Rupees 5000 Crores and to
further say that so much money was earned in a mere 5 years
is plainly derogatory and injurious to his good name and
reputation.

196. The accused have further stated:

There was no communication with Avantika after that. I


thought of contacting the police, but what will the
Chennai police do for the problem in Karnataka.
Moreover Karnataka police was surrounding the
ashram. In that confidence I left the thought of going to
the police. Moreover Avanthika was not alone; she was
with the group of 300 people going for KumbhMela.

At midnight 2.00am I got a phone from Rakesh


informing me that they have takes Avanthika safely
outside. After all the reporters went to rest, ashramites
safely took all the KumbhMela participants outside
ashram I believe. For that act I thank from my heart all
the ashram sannyasis.

197. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused were


clearly aware that Smt. Avanthika was lodged at Nithyananda
Dhyanapeetam out of her own free will and desire. She was
free to leave at any time of the day or night. Their concocted
anxiety is without any basis and has been expressed on paper
for no reason other than to malign the good name of the
Complainant.

198. The accused have further stated:

In my last magazine issue, we saw about Sri. Nithya


Sadananda, he is ashramNo.2, Saamiyar‟s Secretary. He
is called as AYYA by all.
75

199. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused


lacked any basis to state that Nithya Sadananda was placed
at No. 2 in a hierarchy imagined in their own mind. There is
no hierarchy within any of the ashrams of the Complainant.

200. The accused have further stated that:

This happened 10 years before: Sadananda and his pre-


monastic wife are the 2 main pillars of that ashram.
Another main reason why they took sannyas was, at
that time there was no one to take care of Nithyananda.

Because of being in Samadhi for many days, his body


became very lean. When Nithyananda has a little bit of
spice in his food, he would excrete blood, he was
literally like an orphan under the banyan tree in the
place called Bidadi. During these times they both only
looked after him like a child. Only after that ashram
became such a big organization with 1000„s of
branches.

201. The Complainant considers that truthfulness and


righteousness are the only pillars of any religious institution.
As such, to attribute any specific individual or family to the
establishment of the ashrams of the Complainant is quite
misleading. Nithya Sadananda and his devoted wife Ma
Nithya Sadananda are invaluable members and
administrators of Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam. However, to
the Complainant, they are his devotees and he is greatly
indebted to the services of all of his devotees. There has never
been any point of time when the Complainant sought the
services of any of his devotees on the ground that he was not
adequately cared for or nurtured. At all times, the
Complainant has maintained a fierce independence in
thought, mind and deed.

202. The Complainant respectfully submits that as previously


stated, their concoction published in the name of being an
76

interview with the Complainant has caused permanent and


irreversible damage to the good name and reputation of the
Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure H Annexure H1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 101
Publication:
01-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

203. The accused have stated:

This is what the editor said, “One of his friends, along


with his wife, is a staunch follower of Nithyananda. The
couple has one daughter, a college student. This fake
saamiyar has caught her in his web, using his
mesmerism he usually uses towards young girls. As soon
as she finished her college education, she is adamant to
become a brahmacharini in the Swami‟s math. The
couple did not have other children. They did not want to
gift their only daughter to the Saamiyar. The daughter,
however, was insistent. The girl insisted that she will go
only to saamiyar and went and joined also. The family
itself was devastated”.

204. The Complainant respectfully submits that the choice of their


words is blatantly defamatory to the reputation of the
Complainant. In describing the Complainant as a deceiving
Saamiyar, the accused have set the tone for a false story in
the balance of their paragraph. The accused have neither
named the girl nor her parents and if only the accused had
bothered to state their paragraph in greater detail, the
Complainant would have most befittingly provided this
77

Hon‟ble Court with information on why their assumption or


concoction was baseless.

205. The Complainant does not entice anybody and the very
concept of enticement is not known to his style and manner
of propagation. The Complainant is fully aware of the fact that
a few youngsters cultivate a liking towards spirituality and
would pursue on their path much against the will of their own
parents. The Complainant would generally insist that parents
should consent to the act of their children enrolling
themselves for various volunteer services at ashrams
established by the Complainant.

206. At any rate, all ashrams established by the Complainant have


a non-waivable policy of not enrolling any person unless he or
she is above 18 years of age. As such, the policy at
Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam and various other ashrams of
generally insisting on the consent of the parents is a policy
that would be waived under certain circumstances where the
persons seeking to enroll demonstrate a will strong enough to
override that of his or her parents. Under such
circumstances, the Complainant determines that the person
above the legal age of consent is in the best position to decide
upon what is in his or her best interest.

207. The accused have further stated:

Hearing this, I was shocked and enquired of the


ashram. They replied, “that they do not compel any one
to join the ashram”. I got back to the friend and
enquired, and they said, “that they had to unwillingly
sign the consent form, simply because their only
daughter wanted it that way.” It was then that I grew
suspicious about the saamiyar for the first time. It is
true that there is no compulsion in the matter, but to
change the attitude of the people by brain washing them
is a terrible criminal activity.
78

208. The Complainant respectfully submits that no parent is asked


to sign a consent form when they do not orally consent to
their ward enrolling for various programs at the ashram. The
Complainant respectfully expresses displeasure at the act of a
parent signing a consent form under such circumstances. If
only the parent had declined to sign the consent form, the
Complainant would have then called in both the person as
well as her parents to an appropriate counseling session and
would have determined thereafter whether the girl possessed
an independent will to override the desire of her parents. Had
the Complainant discovered that the girl did not possess
sufficient understanding of her own actions or that she did
not possess a will strong enough to justify a departure from
her parents‟ wishes, the Complainant would have then
determined that the girl would not be eligible for enrollment
at the ashram. As such, by their act of signing the consent
form when they did not truly consent, the parents of the
unnamed girl have done a disservice to their own child.

209. However, the Complainant has always instructed his


administrators to closely scrutinize the adjustability of
ashramites who come in without their parental consent and
to monitor them for signs of distress. Should any such
ashramite exhibit symptoms of parental longing, the
administrators would promptly inform the parents and work
out appropriate remedies.

210. The accused have said that the Complainant brainwashes


people and that such brainwashing is a terrible criminal
activity. The accused possessed no basis whatsoever to say
that the Complainant brainwashes people. The Complainant
is a religious practitioner and all that he does is a legitimate
spiritual and religious propagation.
79

211. It is therefore thoroughly derogatory for the accused to so


state and their statements have eroded the well-earned
reputation and character of the Complainant.

212. The accused have further stated:

In the villages, when small children refuse to eat, we


frighten them saying, „the child lifter is coming‟.
Likewise Nithyananda is also a swami who lifts young
girls, the suspicion began to grow for the first time in
my mind.

213. The Complainant respectfully submits that their above


assertion is defamatory to very hilt. By saying so, the accused
have cast a devastating blow to the reputation of the
Complainant.

214. The accused have further stated:

The ashramites would not compel any one, but they will
strike a tour weak points. My friend is a famous writer.
His child has a problem. A variety of treatments could
not cure him. Somehow, getting hold of his address,
continuously letter have been going to him, stating,
„Swami will heal your child, come to Bidadi.‟

215. The Complainant respectfully submits that the ashramites


would never solicit any person to visit the ashram for the
purpose of receiving healing. At best, they would gladly
welcome whoever is keen to visit the ashram. As such, it is
most emphatically stated that if only the accused had
bothered to take a look at whatever letter or communication
the accused are writing about, no such solicitation as the
accused have adverted to would have become evident to the
accused. When the accused say that somehow the ashram
would get hold of a person‟s address, the accused seem to
have not probed their friend to some more extent. Most likely,
their friend might have registered his name and address with
80

the reception at Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam with a request


that he be sent invitations for future religious events.
Accordingly, Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam might have sent
him an invitation to one or more ashram events.

216. Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam or other ashrams of the


Complainant would never solicit the visit of any person or
devotee.

217. The accused have further stated:

My friend, however, is an atheist; he did not take note of


the ashram letter. „If you do not want to come, it is ok.
We will send our healers to your place, and your child
will be ok‟, the letters came repeatedly. My friend,
angrily, wrote a nasty letter in reply. In our Tamil Nadu,
every one, without distinction of rich or poor, has health
problems. If we do not have, some of our dear ones will
be having it. They are the target of Nithyananda and his
disciples. Solving the problem using his proficiency in
black magic, winning over the concerned people, and
lifting the young girls, is the swami‟s plan.

218. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is utterly


outrageous on their part to state that the Complainant uses
black magic and is proficient in black magic. As such, the
accused have most violently eroded the reputation of the
Complainant.

219. The accused have further stated:

This man-lifting is done by the ashramites with great


efficiency. Having somehow come to know that one of
the politicians of Tamil Nadu is my friend, they began to
pester me with a request to bring him to the ashram
once. Am I a political broker? What do they think of me?
In the end I had to tell them the truth. I told them that
if I tried to tell that politician their request he will beat
81

me and chase me away, because he was brought up in


an atmosphere of intellectual temperament. Further I
told the ashramites unambiguously, that „I am busy
doing the translation work given by swami, and each
one of you should not ask me to do this and that‟.

220. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is denied in


entirety that their services were ever sought by any person in
the ashram to introduce any politician, let alone a big
politician from Tamil Nadu to the Complainant.

221. The Complainant has had a diverse devotee base from the
very inception and the goodwill of politicians would become
necessary to the Complainant if only the Complainant could
not secure his work through transparent channels. It is a
policy of the Complainant to secure all works in a transparent
manner and he therefore is in no need of special favours from
the government or from politicians whether from Tamil Nadu
or from elsewhere.

222. As to the work of translation that the accused are referring to,
it has been brought to the notice of the Complainant that the
accused insisted on volunteering his services for the benefit of
the Complainant and that most reluctantly, the Complainant
offered to the accused the work of translating certain books
from English to Tamil. As the accused has himself stated, the
accused was considered an important person by some of the
ashramites who had further wanted the accused to introduce
some big ticket politicians of Tamil Nadu to the Complainant.
If only that were so, it is surprising that the accused was also
subjected to some form of harassment from ashramites
asking the accused to do one thing or other.

223. By needlessly lying about and defaming the people around


the Complainant, the accused have inflicted much damage to
the reputation of the Complainant.
82

224. The accused have further stated:

But they would not be put off. „Will you become an


ashramite?‟

They will continue to torture over phone. I would shout


at them like anything. They will keep off the phone,
saying „sorry‟. The next day, another girl‟s voice will be
heard over the phone, “Would you like to participate in
the Nithyananda programme of Swami Nithyananda,
who is the incarnation of God?”

Apart from wandering like mad caps, they tried different


ways to make me one like them; I shall tell about that
later.

The ashramites main job is to target people with high


influence particularly politicians, film actors,
industrialists etc., they would chase them as one hunts
down animals. If service to the people was the aim, it
could be done straight away; why need politicians and
film stars for that? Because Swami‟s aim is not service,
but money, money and money. Not satisfied with
Rs.5000 Crores accumulated in five years, Nithyananda
was in a fiendish hurry, driven by uncontrolled greed, to
buy the world in the next five years. He was running in
the speed of the ghost. That itself has today caused his
down fall.

225. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has made


certain enquiries and has ascertained that the accused were
not subjected to any form of botheration as claimed in the
aforesaid paragraphs.

226. As to their claim that the Complainant accumulated Rs. 5000


Crores in 5 years, the Complainant respectfully submits that
the said claim is wholly false and baseless.
83

227. The Complainant further submits that he has never sought


material wealth for himself or for any person under him in a
manner suggested by the accused.

228. The accused have further stated:

At one stage they began man-lifting in a disgusting


fashion. Once, having come to Bidadi from Chennai, I
was sitting in the ashram, being tired after traveling.
Then a beautiful brahmacharini came to me. She began,
“Sir, you are the editor of a news magazine ….” “a
writer,” I interrupted her.

“Ok,” She said, and added, “Our swami is an


incarnation of God. Why don‟t you mention this to the
other editors and arrange for a serial to be published in
every magazine regarding the swami?”

“Why can‟t I throw you down and stamp you?” I felt like
asking her; but did not. On the contrary, I said, “If I
mention this to other editors, they will come to kick me
only”. But she did not understand what I said. Having
been brain washed, she kept saying the same thing
again and again.

I felt pity for the girl. Talk to any ashramite, they will
talk to you as if they have escaped from an asylum.
Actress Raga Sudha herself is an example for this. I
asked her a simple question, „When is swami returning
from the USA.?‟ Immediately, „ha ha ha ooh ooh ooh…. „

She would talk something irrelevant for some ten


minutes, as if lost in an ecstasy of devotion. I would
regret having opened the talk with her getting caught.

229. The Complainant respectfully submits that he states with


reasonable certainty that no person was ever instructed to
induce the accused to write favourably about him in any
newspaper. Similarly, the Complainant also states
84

emphatically that it would have been unethical for any person


to ask the accused to influence their fellow journalists in the
matter of favourable coverage of the Complainant.

230. The Complainant respectfully submits that as a journalist,


the accused had a clear duty to reprimand any person for
asking the accused to influence their journalist friends.
Journalism is always about the truth and it is utterly
surprising that the accused did not firmly tell the person who
is supposed to have tormented the accused asking the
accused to favourably influence other journalists.

231. As such, by conveying an impression that the people under


the Complainant would adopt unethical means to secure
publicity for their master, the accused have most definitely
defamed the character and reputation of the Complainant.

232. The accused have further stated:

There is another reason why almost all the


brahmacharinis of the ashram are beautiful young girls.
The swami does not cast his net for the poor, simple
folk. His targets are those of the higher strata of the
society. His private secretary, Gopika, was working for a
monthly salary of Rupees one lakh, before she became a
brahmacharini of the ashram.

Another segment of the society where the swamiar casts


his net: Widows who have lost their husbands. Look at
the advertisement for the camp for the training of
blissful life, known as „Life Bliss Technology (LBT)‟:

“For service-minded girls of above eighteen years, and


single women (widows), with no external world
responsibilities or duties, this training is a boon”.

233. The Complainant respectfully submits that he does not


discriminate between „attractive‟ and „unattractive‟ people.
The private secretary of the Complainant, Ma Nithya Gopika
85

chose to involve herself with the activities of the ashram. The


Complainant is not aware of Ma Nithya Gopika‟s prior calling
in her pre-monastic life. Nevertheless, the Complainant is
quite aware of several individuals who had relinquished a
profitable business or a lucrative career for the purpose of
fully involving themselves with the activities of the ashrams
established by the Complainant.

234. The Complainant does not perceive anything out of the


ordinary when an individual in a high paying position or job
relinquishes the same for the pursuit of spirituality or
religion. The world is awash with examples of such kind.
Intelligent men do not lament at such transformation. As to
the mention of widows in some of the promotional literature
for some of the training programs, the Complainant notes
with concern the lamentable state of countless number of
widows in this country. The Complainant is not unaware of
the atrocities perpetrated upon widows and other women
without dependence in this country.

235. As such, some of the programs of the Complainant are


specifically targeted towards the upliftment of the widowed
class of women. To cast a sinister meaning to such a social
welfare measure is a gross form of perversity. Accordingly, by
saying such things, the accused have most blatantly defamed
the character and good name of the Complainant.

236. The accused have further stated:

I lost whatever little respect I had for Nithyananda, after


his recent interview. The saamiyar says that his
amorous act with Ranjitha in his bed room was a
spiritual experiment. He blabbers, as a pick pocket does
to the police when caught red handed.

Does the saamiyar say that, when he indulges in


amorous acts with the actress after initiating thousands
of people into Sannyas, no one should question that? I
86

had received some threats that I should not write about


Ranjitha. No one has a right into intrude into some
one‟s private space, they say. Did they videograph
Ranjitha when she was in the company of her boy
friend? If she has sexual relation with a saamiyar, who
claims himself to be God before Crores of people, will it
be a private affair? Even if you cheat one person, it is a
crime before the law. The saamiyar has cheated Crores
of people; outraged the spiritual traditions of India.
Since he has indulged in sexual activity in saffron
clothes, it is an act of religious outrage as well. The
actress would be also guilty, having been a party, with
the saamiyar, to this criminal activity.

Now having been caught, „this is my private affair‟, says


the saamiyar. Whose private affair? What to say of the
families, whose members trusted him to be a swami,
and who have been ravaged and dragged to the streets
by the saamiyar? Do you know how many thousands of
parents became orphans, having lost their daughters to
this saamiyar? A number of husbands have complained
to me that, after hearing the swami‟s lectures, “Our
wives are refusing to have marital relation with us”. Are
these not trespass into others‟ bed rooms? No one
should enter the swami‟s bed room. But he could enter
every body‟s bed room; how is that?

237. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is an utterly


criminal act on the part of the accused to first fabricate a
non-existent interview and to thereafter express outrage at
their own fabrication. Such outrageous acts constitute the
most daring acts of criminal defamation. Accordingly, the
accused are held fully responsible for criminally defaming the
good name and reputation of the Complainant.

238. The accused have further stated:


87

There is a nine day-programme, called „Nithyanandam‟.


Fee for that is Rs.50,000. Most of those who
participated in that programme have got their names
changed. I have seen many who have got their names
changed like this. The swami who trespassed into every
aspect of an individual‟s life, is now crying pitiably
hoarse.

The saamiyar‟s Brahmacharya training camp is also


well known. This is how its publicity goes: “Come, you
Vivekanandas! Is a conflict-free world your dream? Is it
your aim to become enlightened? Do you want to adopt
appropriate method of asceticism? Take part in
Nithyanand‟s Ananda Brahmacharya!”

239. The Complainant respectfully submits that not every person


is allowed to enroll himself for a nine day course. The nine
day course is a highly intensive program that is suited to very
few individuals and their depiction of such a course as an
ordinary refuge for any kind of person is wholly inaccurate.

240. As to change of name, each person chooses for himself


whether to retain his old name or to adopt a new but unique
name for the purpose of progressing in his own spiritual path.
It is well established that an individual‟s mental wellbeing is
at times influenced by the regard he places on his own name.

241. Many spiritual seekers find it desirable to embark upon a new


lease of life by discarding their old name and by adopting a
new spiritual name. Many of the individuals who undergo
advanced training courses under the guidance of the
Complainant simply chose to do what many other spiritual
seekers elsewhere also do. As such their unwarranted ridicule
of name change by interested devotees of the Complainant
has indeed affected the credibility of the Complainant and
therefore constitutes defamation of his character and
reputation.
88

242. The accused have further stated:

This „Ananda Brahmachari‟, who teaches Brahmacharya


to the world, had indulged in water-sport in the
company of six naked women, in a tank in the center of
a cave situated some thirty kilometers from Kuttraalam.
I shall tell in the next issue, as to who those women
were, what was the spiritual research that was
conducted there.

243. A letter to their publication as published in the aforesaid


article reads as under:

It is disgusting to hear Nithyananda who calls his sex


leela a „spiritual research‟ in his interview, talk about
blame and sin. Are Hindus fools? People won‟t leave
such saamiyars scot free!

- Lemurian, Tiruvannamalai

Nithyananda‟s „managing‟ interview is good. Till now we


thought he is doing only spiritual research. But by
saying, „That also is a spiritual research‟, he has proven
that he sought bliss everyday.

- S.Gopalan, Chennai

244. It is completely outrageous on the part of the accused to say


that the Complainant took part in water sports with naked
women and that too in the vicinity of a holy shrine. The
depths of their perversity seem to know no end. No such
event was ever organized and no such activity did ever take
place. The Complainant would never consent to water sports
with naked human beings. Further, water sports between the
sexes would never be endorsed by the Complainant. As such,
the accused have most criminally defamed the character and
good name of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


89

Annexure I Annexure I1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 102
Publication:
04-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

245. The accused have stated:

We used to address Pranananda Maharaj lovingly as


Prana Maharaj. Young in age, he is a bundle of energy
always running and doing something or the other. When
Prana called me over phone with „Namaste Sir,‟ I was
surprised, because Nithyananda does not allow his
disciples to greet people with „namaste‟ or „good
morning‟. In the same way that they had a separate flag,
separate God (who else but the amorous Saamiyar
himself!) and a separate system of worship, they have a
separate style of greeting as well.

Just as we greet one another with, „namaste‟ and the


like, the Saamiyar‟s disciples would greet with
„Nithyanandam‟. They will pronounce this in a peculiar
musical tune. Even when I was under the hypnotism of
the saamiyar, on hearing this musical greeting, I used
to feel inside me like returning the same with „kick you‟
in the same tune, but used to return the greeting with a
smile. So far maximum number of people have been
killed in the world, not in the name of women, nor for
expansion of empire, nor for communal reasons, but
only in the name of religion. When that is the case, why
another division, another flag, another God? Aren‟t the
existing Gods, and the blood-letting in their names,
enough? Because I thought on these lines, this kind of
greeting irritated me.
90

246. The devotees of the Complainant greet each other and the rest
of the world with whatever words they deem auspicious and
acceptable. It so happened that they chose the word
„Nithyanandam‟ for the said purpose. The word
„Nithyanandam‟ therefore represents the consensus between
devotees on how to address each other and the rest of the
world. If the accused were agitated at any point of time with
such manner of addressing, the accused ought to have
informed the devotees about their disapproval and the
devotees would have simply refrained from addressing the
accused in a manner that was not to their liking.

247. The accused clearly knew that the devotees of the


Complainant are a very small minority when compared to the
general population within which they reside. As such, a
minority group could have never adopted a certain convention
that would displease the general population. As such, the
accused are free to express mere displeasure so long as the
accused do not indicate to their readers that the devotees of
the Complainant have certain hidden motives in adopting
such a convention. The fact that the accused have so
indicated can only lead to the conclusion that the accused
clearly wished to defame the good name of the Complainant.

248. The accused have further stated:

Nithyananda is complaining plaintively, that his private


space and personal life have been invaded; but people
like Prana should understand, how many thousands‟
private space and personal lives have been outraged by
him. A reader had phoned me (for the sake of his safety,
I do not mention his name or place). Attracted by
Nithyananda, having completed many of the trainings,
he took healing training and has been giving dhyaana
healing to people. So far as Nithyananda is concerned,
when someone joined him, he should immediately
91

become his missionary. I should say that the best suited


candidate for the first prize in this regard would be
actress Raga Sudha. I am a severe critic of Osho,
J.Krishnamoorthi etc.; Raga Sudha is the one who
converted even one like me. I have seen in the company
of the saamiyar, many film personalities from Vishnu
Chakravarti to many of the leading stars of today. But I
do not know how the Bollywood actor, Vivek Oberoi fell
for the saamiyar. I do not think that Raga Sudha has
any influence in Bollywood… But as far as
Kodambakkam is concerned, she was the bridge
between Kodambakkam and saamiyar. Our reader also,
likewise, had talked to all people he knew, and brought
them to Nithyananda; or, he had attempted that.
Therefore, now he has become a butt of their ridicule.

249. The Complainant wishes to state that no obligation of any


kind is cast on any individual who joins his ashram to
perform any missionary kind of activity and to recruit more
volunteers. Ms. Raga Sudha a popular actress was a highly
regarded devotee of the Complainant and her good words
about the Complainant to her friends and acquaintances are
not the responsibility of the Complainant or of his ashrams.

250. Ms. Raga Sudha was at no point of time requested or


instructed to spread word about the Complainant. Neither
Vishnu Chakravarthy nor Vivek Oberoi was ever asked to tell
anybody about their association with the Complainant.

251. The certain individual that the accused have spoken about
might not even exist and if he does, the Complainant would
respectfully submit that no such hostility as the accused have
later described was visited upon such an individual.

252. The Complainant respectfully submits that trouble makers


and those who unleashed violence at the relevant time were
hired goons and criminals with a specific mission.
92

Accordingly the Complainant is of a bona fide belief that the


public anger witnessed at the relevant time was simply staged
by vested groups and was not a spontaneous expression of
anger.

253. Accordingly, their unwarranted commentary on the private


practices of the devotees of the Complainant has cast grave
suspicion on the character of the Complainant and is
therefore defamatory to the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

254. The accused have further stated:

The day when the Swami-Ranjitha sex CD was telecast


through the media, a big crowd had gathered before his
house with the intent of burning it. He fell at their feet
and apologized, and thus saved his life and his house.
How many like him? One? Two? Now you tell me, what
punishment should be given to this fake saamiyar, who
is the cause of all this? Not even a hundred death
sentences will suffice for the cheating that he had done.
But in our country such crimes attract no punishment.

That was not the end of the reader‟s troubles. The


reader had sung the praise of the Swami even before the
local police inspector. Not only that, instead of the
formal greeting, he had used „Nithyanandam‟ while
greeting the inspector. Now that inspector greets him
saying „Ranjithanandam‟ instead of namaste. While
narrating this, the reader cried. What have you to say
for this, Prana?

In Saudi Arabia, the prevalent punishment for such


crimes is stoning to death. But in our country, if you
have the cash, you can escape. And the Swami has five
thousand Crores of rupees; why worry?
93

255. The Complainant respectfully submits that, as stated


elsewhere, the Complainant would not evade any process of
the law and that he stands most ready to face all legal
consequences for all legal infractions. Their imputation that
the Complainant has managed to evade process of the law
with sheer money power is grossly defamatory and wholly
untrue. By stating that the Complainant would have received
death by stoning had he resided in a country such as Saudi
Arabia, the accused have simply transgressed all permissible
norms of journalistic ethics.

256. As such, the accused have committed a blatant act of


defamation in respect of the Complainant‟s name and
character.

257. The accused have further stated:

Prana pleaded with me, “I do not ask you not to write,


but please reduce the severity of the language. It hurts
the disciples mind and they suffer.”

How many devotees, Prana? You might have seen the


CD. Your Swami was engaged in series of lustful
activities with Ranjitha. When asked, he blabbers, “It is
me, but it is not me”. He says that “whatever happened
there was spiritual research, the scene pressing my feet
is true and the rest are all morphed.” But experts have
confirmed that there is no morphing in that CD and
that the whole thing is true. After all these have
happened, shouldn‟t good renunciates like you, have
driven him away from Bidadi ashram? Why didn‟t you
do that? Why are you still covering up lies, vulgarity and
obscenity?

“We are under attack from many points. We do not know


how to face this. Please tone down the severity”
pleading, Pranananda Maharaj finishes his talk.
94

258. The Complainant has ascertained from Sri Nithya


Pranananda that the conversation between him and the
accused was simply to the effect that the accused are
inventing and writing things that do not exist and that he
merely requested the accused not to lie to their readers and
nothing more.

259. It is grossly unprofessional on their part to even fabricate


their conversations with individuals who have called upon
them. The Complainant wishes to state that he would not
take any offence to any objective or reasonable depiction of
his affairs in the media. Their specified articles do not have
the flavour of objectivity.

260. Therefore, by misrepresenting a certain conversation which


Sri Nithya Pranananda had had with the accused, the
accused have created an impression that the Complainant
sought to influence their writing. The conveyance of such
impression is defamatory to the good name of the
Complainant.

261. The accused have further stated:

He is a VIP my long time friend. Three years before, he


had told me something. “Nithyananda was having water
sport in a tank in the company of six women, all of them
naked, inside a cave situated some thirty Kilometers from
Kuttaalam,” said my friend. The watchman of the
bungalow, where the saamiyar was staying, noticed
this, not by accident, but by deliberately following where
the saamiyar was going alone in the company of young
girls. The watchman felt regret thinking, „Wearing
saffron robe, what all notorious activities they do.‟

“One day this Swami is also going to be caught like


Premananda, you will see” said my friend.
Subsequently, when I fell to the Swami‟s fake
enlightenment and black magic and was thinking that I
95

have seen God, my friend reminded me of what


happened three years ago. Besides that, he made me
talk to the watchmen. That time I was too tied to my
„God‟. I told him “the watchman is a demon; you too are
one”, and returned.

But my friend continued to fret that these people, taking


the name of „Paramahamsa‟, the title once taken by the
greats like Vivekanand, Paramahamsa Yogananda,
indulge in such indecent activities! The mention of
Premananda brings to my mind another matter. The
same advocate, Mr. Jethmalani who appeared for
Premananda, is the advocate for Nithyananda as well,
as if the Saamiyar have pre-arranged everything.

“I am those prophets that appeared on this earth so far.


Now I have again taken the incarnation of Krishna,”
Nithyananda used to say often. But he is careful not to
mention one prophet, as if he knows that his head will
not remain on his shoulders, if mentioned that.

262. The Complainant respectfully submits that their aforesaid


paragraph is a concoction of their own mind. No such event
ever took place involving the Complainant. By inventing
utterly false stories on the Complainant, the accused have
ruthlessly destroyed his reputation. The accused are therefore
to be held liable for their acts.

263. The accused have further stated:

“When I was born as Krishna, there were Gopis round


me then. Those Gopis have now become my disciples in
this life” saying this Nithyananda made people believe
what he said. His principal disciple, Sadananda, was
the first Gopika, when he took birth as Krishna! “During
the next few days I will announce who the next Gopikas
were”, said the Swami. The disciples also were eagerly
waiting for the announcement, but lo! then came the CD
96

with no sense of timing. Had there been some more


time, he would have announced that, that Gopi was
Ranjitha.

264. None of the above statements attributed to the Complainant


were ever uttered by him or endorsed by him at any point of
time. Their hostile imagination is clearly bringing forth
aforesaid statements only for the further purpose of thereafter
attributing all of it, falsely, to the Complainant.

265. Accordingly, their false statements have incalculably injured


the reputation of the Complainant.

266. The accused have further stated:

It is now known that Nithyananda‟s incarnation is


nothing but power. In that case, who is he? Is there any
similar example in history? When I thought on these
lines, one name came to my mind – Caligula. Caligula
was the emperor who ruled the Roman Empire in the 1 st
century BC. What all he did during just 29 years of his
life! What is the comparison between him and
Nithyananda? I shall tell.

267. The comparison of the Complainant to a lustful person called


Caligula who once ruled the Roman Empire is grossly
defamatory to the reputation of the Complainant. Caligula
was a member of a royal family and not a religious preacher.
Caligula commanded military authority over his subjects and
no such authority is vested in the Complainant. The purpose
of such a comparison is clearly evident on its face – to
besmirch the good name and character of the Complainant.
The accused have thereby injured the reputation of the
Complainant.

268. The accused have further stated:

In the meantime a phone came from a brahmacharini,


asking me to acknowledge receipt of a sum of Rupees
97

one lakh that has come. The money was credited, but
what is the compensation for 1000 hours of my time
stolen from me at the rate of 18 hours a day for six
months? That is the story of the drudgery I suffered in
the Publication department of the ashram.

269. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


most blatantly abused the faith and trust conferred on the
accused by their readers. The accused were clearly arguing
until a short while ago that the Complainant would never give
money to anybody for the purpose of ruling out the refund
from the cancelled trip to Allahabad. Now that the money has
been credited, the accused have seen it fit to invent another
lie – that the accused spent 1000 hours of his precious time
over the past 6 months at the rate of 16 hours a day in
connection with the literary works of the Complainant.

270. The Complainant further submits that the accused have


simply conjured such a fiction for the sole purpose of casting
the Complainant in a negative light. Nevertheless, the
Complainant states that the accused pleaded repeatedly with
the Complainant that the accused wanted to volunteer and
that the accused wanted to contribute his time towards some
literary works of the Complainant.

271. After consulting with several members of the publication


department, the Complainant had instructed the members of
the publication department to provide the accused with
whatever task the accused would choose amongst a variety of
tasks at the publication department. The Complainant has
ascertained that the accused sought to proof-read a part of
Tamil Translation of the 950-page book titled „Living
Enlightenment‟.

272. The Complainant has further ascertained that the accused


did proof read a total of 32 pages out of the said 950-page
book and that the accused clearly indicated to the publication
98

department that the accused had finished his task with the
proof reading of 32 pages thereat. Accordingly, the accused
was tendered a sum of Rs.30000 as a fair compensation for
the use of his time that was never sought by the publication
department in the first place.

273. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is unfortunate


and regretful for a member of the learned profession of
journalism to blatantly lie first and to publish the same as the
truth. The accused might also be aware of the fact that at the
relevant time, numerous Tamil scholars who were also the
devotees of the Complainant were similarly requesting him to
let them also to volunteer their services for the publication
department. As such, by inventing sheer lies to cast the
Complainant in a negative light, the accused have most
aggressively defamed his character and reputation.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure J Annexure J1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 103
Publication:
08-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

274. The accused have stated:

That saamiyar never gives money, only others have to


give him money. In my writing life I have never
compromised. One who taught me this firmness of mind
was Bharati.

If money is important for others, time is important for


me. During the last six months, I have set aside my
writing work, and worked for about 1000 hours for the
publication work of Nithyananda. In monetary terms
99

this would work out to lakhs of Rupees. But that was


not done for the sake of money. Besides, the money that
the Saamiyar has accumulated was the result of
cheating the common people. If we have to take that
money stained with sin, we will have to bear the burden
attached to it as well. Since I have already committed
enough acts of sin, I do not want to take new load.

275. The Complainant respectfully states that as to the first part


that the Complainant does not give or return money,
sufficient denial has already been made earlier. As to the
assessment of the accused that the work of his translation
runs into several lakhs of Rupees, the Complainant would
like to most emphatically state that he would never withhold
the fair due of any person who has rendered any form of
service to him for a fee. Even if the accused had agreed to
freely translate for the benefit of the Complainant and had
worked for such length of time and had turned out a
substantial work therefrom, the Complainant would have
most willingly offered the money‟s worth for all of his services.
However, as reiterated earlier, his work output came to no
more than 32 pages of proof reading and the accused was
most adequately compensated to the tune of Rs. 30000 for
proof reading 32 pages. It is surprising that the accused has
very summarily stated that he has put in 1000 hours of his
work while not bothering to make any mention of what he
happened to accomplish with those 1000 hours. The reason
for such omission is obvious – the accused never gave more
time than was warranted for proof reading 32 pages of a
certain book.

276. Further, it is a true reflection of their shifting stand that while


the accused did complain of not being compensated for his
services in their earlier issue, the accused is now stating that
he would forego such compensation simply because the
100

money that would be used for compensation is somehow


tainted in his imagination.

277. By expressing false outrage at each turn, the accused have


most brutally damaged the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

278. The accused have further stated:

Saamiyar has accumulated a sum of five thousand


Crores during the last five years. Even people like Bill
Gates cannot dream of such a thing. The government
should take over this wealth; should arrest and
question Nithyananda who had cheated lakhs of people.
If legally possible, he may be awarded double life-term,
as was done in the case of Premananda. He might not
have raped any girl, but he has brain-washed
thousands of young girls and made them monks.

Not only had he committed a crime, now he is engaged


in the bigger crime of covering that crime. This is what
he says in an interview given to Kumudam Reporter,
“We have no money power, no influence in the ruling
circles, no power in the legal sphere, no political power.
This is a mission devoid of any power, a mission of
service.”…..

Even a fourth grade politician would not utter such


blatant lie. For one with 5000 Crores rupees at his
disposal, to say that he has no money is such a big
notorious thing.

279. The Complainant respectfully submits that the hysterical


declaration and repetition that the Complainant has amassed
well over Rs. 5000 Crores is plain hostility. The Complainant
denies possessing wealth to such extent. Their repeated
insistence that the Government should arrest the
Complainant merely because the accused do not like him is
101

height of hostility on their part. The accused clearly knew


that the governments in this country are run in accordance
with the Constitution of India and the laws made thereunder
and not for placating the views of hostile journalists.

280. The Complainant respectfully submits that Swami


Premananda was convicted on grounds other than what the
accused have been repeatedly referring to. The records of
Swami Premananda‟s case reflect a charge of rape and a
subsequent conviction at trial.

281. The Complainant did not and would never commit any sexual
assault on any person far less a rape of a devotee. Therefore,
their repeated reference to Swami Premananda is simply
misplaced. As to an interview that was given to Kumudam
Reporter, it has already been stated that no such interview
was ever given by the Complainant to the accused or to any
other person in Kumudam Reporter. Their characterization
that the Complainant is beneath a fourth grade politician is
evidently injurious to his reputation. By expressing
displeasure at the fact that the Complainant was not arrested
or criminally prosecuted for acts that exist merely in their
imagination, the accused have committed a grave injury to
the reputation and character of the Complainant.

282. The accused have further stated:

Barring the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, many of the


Chief Ministers of the other States have prostrated
before this Saamiyar. Even now he has close relation
and support of some of the politicians of North India.
Such a person says that he has no influence in the
ruling circles, has no political power. This is plain
balderdash. Where to go and tell this? Is it without
power in the legal sphere that he is engaging Ram
Jethmalani to argue his case? Can you or I do that?
102

This fake saamiyar who has been outraging India‟s


spiritual tradition by stacking lie upon lie, should be
deported from India after he has completed his life-term,
and should never be allowed reentry into the country.

This is my stand. Whether this is a compliment or


criticism, you decide. But why some readers regard my
writings as my praise of the saamiyar, is because I write
that Nithyananda has cured people of their illnesses.
This healing capacity can be acquired by any rascal, if
there is one like that.

283. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never


aspired for political power or for power of any other kind. As a
matter of fact, Sri Ram Jethmalani who is a distinguished
lawyer of this country was not engaged at any point of time by
the Complainant. Further, Sri Ram Jethmalani is an advocate
with a conscience and is a man committed to fight for the
cause of unpopular defendants. It should not have surprised
the accused if only Ram Jethmalani had argued for the
Complainant. By repeatedly emphasizing that the
Complainant has engaged the services of Sri Ram Jethmalani,
the accused have expressed a blatant ignorance of the true
role of a lawyer – to secure justice for his client by describing
to a Court of law, the truth to the core and by refuting
rumours or falsity that might have been slapped against one‟s
client.

284. Their suggestions that the Complainant should first be


deported or convicted clearly show that the accused have
enormous hostility towards the complainant. There is no law
in this country that prescribes as punishment, the
deportation of a convict to a territory outside India. By
expressing a certain bogus outrage, the accused have most
aggressively defamed the character and reputation of the
Complainant.
103

285. The accused have further stated:

„That one has terrible capacity for black magic, he


(singular) spends all his time in the bar in the company
of his girl friends only‟, I was telling my friend about
him. “Who? You?” asked my friend. I replied, „Disgrace,
disgrace, I know neither black magic nor white magic‟
and added, „his name is Rasputin.‟

286. The Complainant respectfully submits that he is at a loss to


identify the true meaning of the aforesaid statement.
Nevertheless, it suggests a derogatory reference to him.

287. The accused have further stated:

Because it is a story involving the fraudulent saamiyar,


I am confused as to what to write first. Let us see one by
one.

Before that I should tell you about the midnight phone


call from the young Sannyasini. She asked, “Swami‟s
book, the Bhagvad Gita is to be translated into Tamil.
Shall I send the book at 4 in the morning?” It was 12
midnight then, and she was sending the book at 4 in
the morning! That brahmacharini spoke from the
publication division of the saamiyar in Chennai. What is
clear from this? The swami‟s disciples do not sleep. It is
great, if they sleep for two hours in day. Two thousand
people work for the swami day and night in this
manner.

288. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has


ascertained that no such call was ever made to the accused.
The Complainant has further ascertained that the members of
the publication department did not have any occasion to
repeatedly get in touch with the accused. As the accused
clearly was aware, sleep deprivation is bound to result in poor
health and manifest weaknesses or injuries and that the
104

devotees of the Complainant were not trained to withstand


reduced sleep patterns.

289. As such, their claim that the devotees of the Complainant


would sleep for no more than 2 hours is a calculated attempt
of falsity of the highest order. As such, the accused have
injured the reputation and character of the Complainant.

290. The accused have further stated:

In October last year the ashram had enquired of me


whether I could give advice to their Tamil publication
division, and I had agreed to it.

Immediately they gave me the book entitled “Living


Enlightenment” asked me to translate it. It was a pillow-
sized book of some 1000 pages. If I have to translate it, I
would have had to forget my writing, and engage myself
in that job at least for five years. But since writing is life
breath, I could not leave that, and I told them so. “In
that case you need not translate it; our group has already
translated it, and you may correct it,” they said.

About 3000 pages came to me. Some fifty people have


been translating the same. Each one had one‟s own
style. On reading four lines, I realized that none of them
knew how to write Tamil.

Having given this bundle of papers, the swami‟s disciple


told me to complete it by November. This is why I wrote
that the swami‟s disciples formed a crowd of the insane.
They wanted me to finish in one month, what would
have taken at least five years to complete. “Swami‟s
birthday falls on January 1st, and he will be attaining 33
years of age, and Swami wants 33 Tamil books to be
published on January 1st,” they said. Their insanity has
reached unimaginable level! The Swami‟s each book
contains from 200 to 1000 pages. The Swami desires
105

thirty three such books to be translated into Tamil, and


published, within the span of just one month!

291. The Complainant respectfully submits that as stated in the


earlier paragraphs, everything that the accused have stated
above is false. If only the Complainant had sought to publish
33 Tamil books by his 33rd birthday, he possessed the
requisite resources to accomplish that without their aid. It is
a blatant lie on their part to say that the Complainant would
engage in the acts of botheration of linguistic scholars just so
that he could fulfill his wishes. The Complainant would limit
his desire to match with the resources he possessed.
However, the Complainant has reliably ascertained that no
person had ever assigned such a work, much less a target to
the accused.

292. Therefore, by inventing sheer lies to project a picture of


exploitation by the Complainant, the accused have most
blatantly injured his reputation and character.

293. The accused have further stated:

Another matter. How does the swami write such


hundreds of books? The Swami never writes, he lectures
from morning till night. They would have his lectures
printed and publish them as books. In this way, one can
write even 1000 books during his life time. Besides, all
the topics of these books would be spiritual thoughts
and ideas of a high order. But this fraud of a saamiyar
cannot lay claim to the ownership of these. He is very
brilliant and has enormous memory power. Whatever he
says is taken from the books that he had read. They are
the ideals of Patanjali, Buddha, Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa, Ramana, Osho, J.Krishnamoorthi and
the like, not of Nithyananda.

If someone pointed this out to the Swami, he would


reply, “I have the reflections of all these people, because I
106

reside in all of them”. Why go that far? Once when I


asked him, „What Swami, you have imbibed the Gita in
toto,‟ he replied laughingly, “I only wrote that”. The
people around there prostrated before him, as if they
saw before them Lord Krishna himself.

294. The Complainant respectfully submits that merit is absolutely


essential in the spiritual and religious worlds and that their
continued insistence that the Complainant does not possess
merit is utterly insulting to his reputation and character.

295. The Complainant further wishes to state that the accused


seem to be keen to convey to their readers that spirituality
and religiousness in the present day are devoid of merit. The
accused possess no authority to say so. The Complainant has
never claimed anything remotely similar to what the accused
have attributed to him in the aforesaid paragraph.
Accordingly, the Complainant respectfully submits that his
reputation and character have been unjustly defamed by their
unwarranted statement.

296. The accused have further stated:

Then, since the torture kept on coming through phone,


somehow I finished some fifty pages, and bid bye to
them. It was then that, that disciple called me at
midnight and asked whether she might send it at 4 in
the morning.

The matter was – translation of Bhagavad Gita. Being


sleepy, I said „yes‟ to that.

297. The Complainant respectfully submits that as already stated


in the paragraphs above, the above statements are blatantly
false. The accused have therefore committed an unwarranted
defamation of the character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


107

Annexure K Annexure K1
Date of Volume: 9 Issue: 104
Publication:
11-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

298. The accused have stated:

Crime branch policemen met me in connection with


investigation on Nithyananda. It was investigation as to
the sum of rupees one lakh taken by Nithyananda from
300 people for going to the KumbhMela. I am ready to
co-operate with the police in this regard. But
Nithyananda, whenever he gives or takes money from
the public, gives receipts. Who know whether he keeps
receipts for the „spiritual research‟ that he does with the
actresses?

He never uses coercion on any matter, but it cannot be


said that he keeps receipts for the 5000 Crores rupees
that he has accumulated. It is from this point that the
government should start its investigation. They should
find out as to how he accumulated so much money
within five years, and attach all of that. Besides, having
hurt the religious sentiments of the people, having
turned young girls into monks, having taught others
that sex is sin, while indulging in sex himself, having
brain-washed others into vegetarianism while eating
„non veg‟ himself forbidding others from eating even
onion and garlic, while eating Viagra himself. The police
should decide under what Sections of the law can this
fake saamiyar, who has committed 100s of crimes, be
booked. Above all, his horrendous crime was that he
made lakhs of people mentally sick. Because of this I
108

say he is a worst sort of anti social element. We will


come to that matter later.

299. The Complainant respectfully submits that the event fee


collection for the KumbhMela was never the subject of any
police investigation at the relevant time, or at any point of
time later.

300. By acknowledging that the Complainant‟s ashrams always


issue receipts for monies received, the accused have
acknowledged correctly. As to their supposed co-operation
with the police, it is not true to state that the police wanted to
investigate the event of KumbhMela trip and the subsequent
cancellation of the same and refund of monies collected from
willing participants. As to their statement whether the
Complainant „keeps receipts for the research that he does
with the actress‟, it can only be said that their untrammeled
hostility knows no bounds. The Complainant has already
denied the giving of any interview to their magazine.
Accordingly, it their sheer imagination and hostility to say
that the Complainant engaged in some sort of sexual
research.

301. As such, their blatant lies have indeed sullied the reputation
of the Complainant. As to the possession of a wealth of Rs.
5000 Crores, their repeated claims that the Complainant has
amassed wealth to the tune of Rs. 5000 Crores are without
any basis. When such is the case, for the accused to ask a
question whether their own unfounded claims are valid is a
further defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

302. As to their further argument that the government ought to


begin investigation of the wealth of the Complainant, the
Complainant respectfully submits that the work of a
Government is always of a more solemn nature and the
109

Governments always have greater businesses to attend to


than to listen and to act on their wholly unfounded ideas.

303. The rest of their paragraphs are outrageous and wholly


defamatory to the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

304. The accused have further stated that:

Historians say that Caligula was insane; I do not know.


But I know that Nithyananda is one like him.

305. Their comparison of the Complainant with Caligula who


according to the accused was out of touch with reality and
was insane is thoroughly defamatory to the character and
reputation of the Complainant.

306. The accused have further stated:

Nithyananda has said on many occasions, “If I ask the


rain to stop, it will stop, and it will rain if ask. I am the
lord of the five elements.” This he has said about a
thousand times. Now when he has been caught, he
says, “I am a yoga teacher. Having trespassed into my
bedroom, they have video graphed me indecently” he
laments.

307. The Complainant respectfully submits that when the accused


say that the Complainant did utter a 1000 times that he
could simply ask rains to stop and that the rains would
oblige, the accused have uttered falsity. The accused have
therefore committed a grave injury to the reputation and
character of the Complainant.

308. The accused have further stated:

I have seen at Bidadi. There under an old banyan tree


saamiyar has constructed a small Shiva temple called
Anandeshwar temple. The deity is sculptured as Shiva
doing Ananda form of Dance. But the worship takes
110

place not to Shiva! But to a life-size portrait, placed


some 15 feet away; that is the portrait of Nithyananda
himself. Standing before that portrait a young
brahmacharini conducts the worship. This worship of
Nithyananda takes place for two hours from 7 in the
morning. Just think that the worship lasts two hours;
one has to carry a single lamp, having 50 or 60 wicks,
for two hours!

The ashramites would put round the neck of any one


approaching Nithyananda a garland with Nithyananda‟s
locket, and also round the hand, a bangle with
Nithyananda‟s name written on it. I have seen this
bangle even on the hand of a popular film star. As a
result of this kind of brain-washing taking place in the
ashram, all the disciples of Nithyananda, keeping aside
the Gods they were worshipping so far, would begin to
consider this fraudulent saamiyar as God.

309. The Complainant respectfully submits that as is a repeated


feature of their earlier articles, the accused have seen it fit to
lie further. The morning worship involving puja and arathi is
never performed by female devotees at the sanctum. The
accused clearly knew this. Yet the accused have seen it fit to
lie as to the nature of the morning worship. As to worship
duration, the accused have clearly portrayed a complete
ignorance of the daily activities inside most spiritual and
religious organizations in this country. It certainly should not
bother the accused, that a spiritual organization conducts a
puja for two hours or for twenty hours in a day. It is not a
matter for their concern and neither is it the business of their
publication to negatively inspect upon the religious affairs of
others and to proclaim whether the same is reasonable or not.
As to the locket and bracelet, no one is forced to wear the
same. Devotees do so on their own free will.
111

310. As such, by deliberating misleading their readers as to the


nature of activity inside the ashrams established by the
Complainant, the accused have most egregiously defamed the
character and reputation of the Complainant.

311. The accused have further stated:

One reader said that Gnanananda Maharaj had come to


his house. I have already mentioned that all of the
saamiyar‟s activities are money spinners. It is called
“Swarnapaadapooja”. They take the print of the swami‟s
feet on a golden tray, take that tray from house to
house, do a three-hour yaga for a fee of Rs.5000/-.
When Gnanananda came to their house, he saw the
portrait of various gods at the center, with that of
Nithyananda in a corner. With suppressed anger he said
laughingly, “(pointing to the Nithyananda‟s portrait) he
represents all of them. When all these gods together have
come in human form, why do you keep him aside and
keep the others in the center?”

It is for this reason that I recommend Saudi type


punishment for Nithyananda. Here they are doing
„swarnapaadapooja‟ and in the ashram he is busy doing
another kind of pooja with the actress.

312. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has


ascertained from Nithya Jnanananda that no such statement
was ever uttered by him in the house of any devotee. Further,
the Complainant would never insist that his statutes should
be accorded a primary position in the house of his devotees.
Similarly, he is of the bona fide belief that none of his
devotees would likewise insist upon other persons.

313. The accused clearly knew that the worshippers of the Hindu
gods always have unflinching devotion towards their idols. It
is not likely that somebody who holds much devotion to his
idols would take lightly to a false suggestion the accused have
112

seen it fit to manufacture and attribute to Nithya


Jnanananda. The Complainant is undoubtedly held in high
esteem and reverence by countless number of his devotees
and the same is a result of a spontaneous and voluntary
desire on the part of his devotees and is not attributable to
any overt act of insistence by the Complainant. Therefore the
desire of the accused for Saudi type of punishment is gravely
defamatory and outrageous.

314. At any rate, the accused have most blatantly committed the
defamation of the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

315. The accused have further stated:

Now let us return to Caligula. Caligula who declared


himself to be God, and built temples ruled just for four
years. He came to power at the age of 25, and was killed
by his own kinsmen when he was 29. Reason - the
same sex that was the basis for the downfall of
Nithyananda.

This fall of the saamiyar is as good as death for him.


The transformation of one, at whose feet big wigs
prostrated, one who called himself god, into a criminal
today, trying to escape the law – is it not worse than
death?

Look at the surprising similarity between Caligula and


Nithyananda. The swami became the lord of such an
empire just five years ago. Today his age is 33.

The antics of Caligula are countless. He made his


favourite horse a member of the Roman Parliament (our
politicians are better, aren‟t they?). Cutting off the
tongues, and gouging the eyes, of those whom he did
not like, was his hobby. He spared no woman to have
sex; not even his sisters. Well, how does Nithyananda fit
113

into this? The swami tried to involve me as well, in the


impugned CD; how I escaped from that?

316. The Complainant respectfully submits that their relentless


comparison of the Complainant to Caligula is a clear
reflection of their unremitting hostility. The Complainant
possessed no desire to march ahead in the realm of material
wealth. As such, the frequent objection of the accused to his
perceived material wealth is wholly misplaced. The
Complainant neither sought wealth nor influence and the
accused possessed no basis to allege to such effect. As such,
the accused have committed a grave defamation of the
character and reputation of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure L Annexure L1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 01
Publication:
15-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

317. The accused have stated:

I wrote that ashramites had returned back the amount


of one lakh rupees each from 300 devotees collected in
order to go for KumbhMela Yathra. But they have not
returned back the money robbed from the public
through some other means. That was what was robbed
in the name of Pada Puja.

318. The Complainant respectfully submits that when the accused


state that the Complainant robbed money from the public,
the accused have indulged in inexcusable acts of defamation
of his character.
114

319. The accused have further stated:

The fee for the 9-day meditation class called


„Nithyanandam‟ is 50,000 rupees. The fee for the
meditation class called NSP is 4000 rupees. All those
need not be returned. Because, in those meditation
classes good things like meditation, yoga were taught.
But Pada Puja is an atrocity happened non-righteously
and is worse than a bank robbery. No spiritual master
who has happened in India till now, has collected a fee
of 25,000 rupees for touching and worshipping their
feet. Why? To fall at and get up from the feet of even
politicians, no fee is earmarked for the devotees - sorry,
sevaks.

The number of people who perform the Pada Puja for


Nithyananda in half an hour may go up to ten. There is
no possibility of performing Pada Puja one full day. (He)
has to go for conducting classes and for Pada Puja
specially performed by actress. So how much do you
think, the money robbed in two, three hours allocated
for Pada Puja would be?

15 lakh rupees. In a single day, is this possible in India


for any other businessman or politician? Receipts were
given to all these money. In the ashram everything will
happen only legally! The 5000 Crore Rupees with
saamiyar is collected only by this way.

320. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


displayed disappointment with the fact that some devotees of
the Complainant do insist that the Complainant should mark
his presence in their houses and dwellings and that for the
provision of such services, the devotees are willing to pay
certain sums of money as a monetary benefit in return.

321. As such, when the accused express resentment at the fact


that devotees do insist on Paada Pooja and that the
115

Complainant obliges such devotees, the accused have


expressly declared their hostility to the Complainant.

322. As to the further repetition of the claim that the Complainant


has amassed 5000 Crore Rupees, the Complainant reaffirms
the previous denial.

323. Accordingly, by abusing their journalistic liberty to defame a


religious practitioner without justification, the accused have
caused defamation of the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

324. The accused have further stated:

Why is the government which collects a huge part of our


earnings as tax if ordinary people like us earn through
hard work, gives tax waiver for such fake saamiyars?
Not only Nithyananda. Like this, in all religious
institutions, money is circulating as 1000 Crores and
10,000 Crores. These people function nearly like a
separate government. It is the fate of our country that
there is nobody to question all this.

It may be practically not possible to return back the fee


for the Pada Puja robbery happened since past five six
years. At least if (he) gives back the collected money
happened in the past one year, Nithyananda may
escape the curse that people give with a burning-
stomach. Many who have poured 25,000 rupees like
this are of middle class.

325. The Complainant respectfully submits that the trusts


established and administered by the Complainant are
registered under the appropriate laws in force in this country.
Further, these trusts have always complied with the
applicable laws in the matter of their administration. As such,
the persistent claim of the accused that the Government has
somehow favoured the Complainant is without any basis. No
116

exemption has been sought by the trusts that were


established by the Complainant except in the manner
conferred by the applicable statute. As such, when a statue
confers the benefit of exemption to qualifying trusts, the
trusts established by the Complainant have applied for such
exemption and have secured such exemption in a manner
fully consistent with the applicable laws. Therefore, when the
trusts established by the Complainant comply with the
applicable laws and secure exemption, no question of favour
from the Government can be said to have taken place. The
authority which receives the exemption application would be
bound under the law to confer such exemption only upon
satisfying itself that the application and the conduct of the
applying party are in order. As such, when the accused state
that the Government or its agencies have somehow favoured
the Complainant, the accused have cast a criminal allegation
on the conduct of the Government itself and it is not a
legitimate function of a journalist to impute criminal motives
to the fair acts of the Government.

326. Further, when the accused state that the middle class have
coughed up the fee for Paada Pooja, the accused fail to realize
that neither at the relevant time nor at any point of time
thereafter, no person who had paid for the Paada Pooja had
sought the refund of the money paid by him or her. In and of
itself, the fact that the people who did actually expend money
have had no form of grievance against the Complainant
should have been noted by the accused. By presenting the
character of the Complainant in such false light, the accused
have deliberately damaged the reputation and character of
the Complainant.

327. The accused have further stated:

Although Nithyananda comes wearing ochre clothes


during discourses, at the end of programs, it is common
117

for him to come wearing silk sherwani weaved with gold.


Such dresses are worn by North Indian crorepathis like
Ambani during wedding functions as the bridegroom.
One Sherwani may cost 5 lakhs, 10 lakhs.

Leaving this aside Nithyananda would sit only in golden


simhasana. He would wear only the rudraksha malas
made of gold. Each one would be of a lemon‟s size. We
know how much would a one-sovereign chain cost.

328. The Complainant respectfully submits that the sherwanis


that are occasionally worn by the Complainant are of the
common variety and do not cost above a few thousand
Rupees. The Complainant has ascertained that the highest
cost ever expended over such sherwani was a sum of Rs.
10,000/-.The Complainant further submits that for a
religious practitioner to prefer an attire costing Rs. 10,000/-
on certain occasions is no more objectionable than the act of
a woman preferring to wear a silk saree that costs as much
during wedding and other social gatherings. Silk is a heritage
product of India and certain kinds of silks always cost
considerable sums of money. The Complainant respectfully
submits that silk represents the glory of a humble and
anonymous moth and that when the Complainant wears silk
attire, he does not intend to flaunt thereby. The Complainant
has often explained that there is an obvious majesty to silk
and that when he does wear silk clothes, he does so in an
atmosphere in which some part of his preaching is focused on
the majesty of the Lord.

329. As such, by comparing the Complainant to billionaires and by


assessing that the sherwanis worn by the Complainant might
have cost between 5 and 10 lakh, the accused appear to have
deliberately invited public anger against the Complainant.

330. The Complainant further submits that gold is a unique metal


that vividly reflects upon the majesty of the Lord. As such,
118

gold plated simhasanas and golden ornaments when worn by


a religious practitioner bear a certain religious significance.
Moreover, as a matter of fact, the simhasanas over which the
Complainant is generally seated is merely gold plated and is
not made from gold itself.

331. Further, the Complainant respectfully submits that


rudrakshas too hold a spiritual significance. When encased
within gold, rudrakshas serve a valuable spiritual purpose
and the significance of such purpose is certainly not a matter
for the accused to speculate in their publication.

332. Accordingly, the accused have clearly maligned the character


and reputation of the Complainant by their misplaced
valuation and assessment of the Complainant‟s attire and
personal belongings.

333. The accused have further stated:

“If there is no food for even an individual, we‟ll destroy


the world”, said Bharathi. “In the religion or God who is
unable to relieve an individual from starvation, I don‟t
trust”, said Vivekananda. “Removing the disease of
hunger of people is my first and foremost debt”, our
Vallalar said and also did so. That is why his name is
Vallalar - the charitable one. But Nithyananda having
rolled with an actress, kept hand in ordinary man‟s
pocket.

I once asked Nithyananda, “Does it befit a sannyasi to


be luxurious with golden simhasanas, golden rudraksha
malas? A real renunciate is the one who renounces
everything – right?” For that he hedged saying, “All
these respects are not done for me; (these are) respects
done for the truths I deliver”. What truth did
Nithyananda deliver to get such a respect with gold? His
119

main preaching is, “Cut off desire” only. Is rolling in


gold and rolling with actress the cutting off desire?

Saamiyar did not tell that thing alone. Saamiyar saw me


and told me in the meditation camp where 5000 people
had gathered, “My daily life is unbelievably simple. Salt,
chilies -nothing will be there. One hand full of green
grams and water is my food. My property is all the two
ochre dhotis and two banians only. Nothing else is there.
If I say like this, it would be difficult to believe. So stay
for 10 days with me for all 24 hours and see my daily
life.”

But now only after seeing the notorious CD, saamiyar


eating ice cream and some more other ajalgujals
becomes known. (Okay, is the (tablet) saamiyar
swallows a Viagra?) If so he should be careful.

334. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


demonstrated much ignorance about spiritual matters and
affairs. As has been stated at the very inception, the
Complainant denies the veracity and truthfulness of the
materials that the accused have deliberately and falsely
assumed to depict the truth. As such, their repeated disgust
at what they have seen in the video is traceable not to the act
of the Complainant but to their own gullibility to simply
believe what they saw in the morphed and fabricated video.

335. The Complainant recalls having said the statements made in


the above paragraph (My daily life is unbelievably simple.
Salt, chillies -nothing will be there. One hand full of green
grams and water is my food. My property is all the two ochre
dhotis and two banians only. Nothing else is there. If I say
like this, it would be difficult to believe. So stay for 10 days
with me for all 24 hours and see my daily life.)but in a
different context. The Complainant was led to believe that the
accused was keen to write a biography about him and that
120

the accused wanted to learn more about his daily life. As


such, the aforesaid words of the Complainant were uttered in
connection with an invitation to the accused to freely stay
with the Complainant and to watch him for all of the hours in
a day for a period of ten days.

336. The Complainant further submits that the aforesaid invitation


to the accused was itself a clear indication to them that a
religious practitioner who engages in unsavory activities
would never throw open his daily affairs to the watchful gaze
of another. As the accused have themselves admitted, the
accused was invited to watch over the activities of the
Complainant for all the 24 hours of a day for a period of 10
days during a certain religious utsav. As such, the accused
have twisted the context for the aforesaid words of the
Complainant and by doing so, the accused have committed
an act of defamation of the Complainant.

337. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never


consumed medication bearing the brand name, „viagra‟
manufactured by Pfizer Laboratories, United States of
America. Similarly, the Complainant has never consumed the
active ingredient in viagra, sildenafil nitrate in any other
medication or concoction. Further, the Complainant
respectfully submits that he has never consumed any drug or
substance that has as its objective, the arousal of sexual
energy in a human body.

338. Therefore, by falsely expressing in regard to the Complainant


their misplaced concern and suspicion, the accused have
committed a grave defamation of the character and reputation
of the Complainant.

339. The accused have further stated:

I have seen many devotees who shed tears listening to


the repeated saying of saamiyar that only a handful of
121

grams and water is his food, eating the food cooked at


their homes only after offering it to his photograph.
They believed that doing this way, the food will reach
saamiyar.

On knowing that Nithyananda asked me to stay with


him for 10 days, actress Raga Sudha was moved to
tears Saying, “It is a fortune nobody would get, brother”.

Now only I thank God for my not having that fortune. If


I had been with saamiyar 24 hours as he said, I would
have got caught in the CD. Will you believe if I say, „No,
I am staying only to watch his daily life?‟

340. The Complainant respectfully submits that if the accused


were in any manner involved in the fabrication and morphing
of the video in question, the accused clearly ran afoul of the
criminal laws of this country and appropriate prosecution for
their acts will certainly follow. However, the Complainant
respectfully submits that the unswerving devotion of the
devotees of the Complainant as reflected in their act of
offering their food first to the image of the Complainant in
their homes is not a matter for their comment.

341. As such, by depicting the Complainant in a dis-favourable


light, the accused have committed defamation of the
character and reputation of the Complainant.

342. The accused have further stated:

We now and then read in the newspaper some people


claiming themselves as higher police officials and IAS
officials and roaming and later counting the prison bars,
getting caught by real police. If pretending to be an
officer itself is a crime capable of sentence to
imprisonment, what punishment shall be given to him if
(he) cheats people claiming to be God, Lord of the whole
cosmos? Our constitution may give punishment or may
122

not, it should only be said that the Goddess herself has


punished the one who cheated dressing up as Goddess.

Even Hitler having lived his whole lifetime as an all


powerful fascist, at his 56th year, having heard the news
of his Nazi battalions‟ loss, shot himself and died. By
destroying himself, he - the slayer of nearly 80 lakhs
Jews - escaped the punishment. But Nithyananda, who
was regarded as God by lakhs of people and had got all
powers, has today fallen from the peak of fame and has
come to a state wherein all laugh at him. Can there be a
punishment greater than this?

343. The Complainant respectfully submits that the unmerited


outrage by the accused at the possibility that the
Complainant might not be liable for any punishment under
the law is a deplorable act of defamation of the reputation and
character of the Complainant. Their further reference to Adolf
Hitler is clearly defamatory to the reputation and character of
the Complainant.

344. The hostility of the accused is clearly evident when they state
that the Complainant ought to have killed himself in response
to staged outrages coming from their publication.

345. As such, the desire of the accused to see punishment graver


than death inflicted upon the Complainant is an act that is
thoroughly defamatory to the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

346. The accused have further stated:

It is not believable that Gopika, who is always with


saamiyar like his shadow, would not have known his
sex leela. If a person is seen from 1000 feet distance, he
will look dull. If seen from a distance of hundred feet he
will be looking clearer. But Gopika was at a distance of
3 feet. Not only that, she was the one who sent women
123

inside saamiyar‟s room for doing „seva‟. There is a word


in English for this. Was Gopika like that knowingly? Or
was she doing it unknowingly? Why ashramites do not
at all open their mouth for all these?

At the same time, writing and saying that saamiyar kept


hand on all the women who come to ashram is like
abusing the entire female community. Women
worshipped him only thinking him as God. Had women
known that he is such a perverted sex saamiyar, they
would not at all have gone even by his side. Osho did
not ban sex. He said sex is also spirituality. Indian
women did not go to Osho who spoke like this.

There is no perversion in flirting with a woman. But if


the one who preached all those who came to him to
abstain from sex, alone enjoys sex, it is perversion.
Moreover, it is seen in the CD, saamiyar lies without
reacting even after the actress‟ struggling a lot. On
seeing this I remember some other things he said about
himself. Once Nithyananda said: I am not a male as you
think…

347. The Complainant respectfully submits that no such thing as


stated by the accused in the aforesaid paragraphs did ever
occur in the first place. As such, for the accused to needlessly
cast doubt on the character of Ma Nithya Gopika is blatantly
absurd. Further, as already stated by the Complainant, he
has never had sex with any of his devotees. Therefore, the
accused have defamed the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure M Annexure M1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 02
Publication:
124

18-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

348. The accused have stated:

Nithyananda‟s gait, his dress, his talk his behavior all


are like those of a female. Frequently calling himself a
Goddess, he will present himself, draped in a saree,
sitting in the golden throne. I think, it is for this reason
that the womenfolk as a whole got attracted to
Nithyananda. In the same life – in the same body, there
is male and female elements. We can see this in small
children. It is because of this that sometimes male
children dress like girls and vice versa. But as they grow
up, we, parents, stop this.

In Hindu religion they call it as Ardhanareeshwar,


combining the features of both Shiva and Shakti. In
Chinese it is Yin Yang. Once Nithyananda dressed
himself like a woman, walked like Saroja Devi in the
film “Anbevaa”, took his seat in the golden throne, and
said to his devotees “ask me questions, if you have any”.
Questions are to be written in chits of paper (and
handed over to the volunteers). I sent my chit with a
question, “are you man, woman, or an eunuch?”

Nithyananda is usually hot tempered. I have been


surprised about that also. Should an enlightened
master be so subject to anger? There is one thing to be
noted here. Many people justifying the swami say, “Even
Vishwamitra got attracted to Menaka.” They do not know
one thing: Vishwamitra was a Rishi, and Rishis had
wives.

349. The Complainant respectfully submits that he dresses at


times in the form of a female goddess as an act bearing a
125

religious significance and such significance has been


completely lost upon the accused. The Complainant further
submits, respectfully, that he does not dress up as a woman
for the sake of attracting female devotees towards him.
Moreover the Complainant submits that he is at a loss to
appreciate why and how female devotees would even be
attracted to a male religious practitioner who dresses up as a
woman at times.

350. Further, the Complainant submits that if he were asked if he


was a man, woman or eunuch, he would have gladly informed
the questioner that he possesses the body of a man. As such,
by needlessly imputing unspiritual conduct to the
Complainant, the accused have most clearly defamed the
reputation and character of the Complainant.

351. The accused have further stated:

That was why in olden days they constructed mandaps.


A Sannyasi should not sleep even near a male Sannyasi.
The most prominent sign of a Sannyasi is that he
should live on alms. He should go in search of alms only
around 3.00 in the afternoon. He can go only to seven
houses on a particular day (some say he can go only to
one house). If he got nothing on a particular day he
should starve that day. Lord Buddha was the greatest
Sannyaasi that human history has ever seen. Buddha
who created a very great Sangha to spread his
teachings, lived throughout his life in this fashion only.

But Nithyananda has enjoyed every kind of pomp


available in the world – luxurious car, luxurious
apartment. He will not live without air condition even
for a minute. Even while conducting his discourses,
there will be a cooler near him.

Always when he is alone, different girls must massage


his feet. In short, Nithyananda lives as the Sultans did
126

in the middle ages. Why go to history? Even now many


billionaires lives are like that. You might be aware of the
Monica – Clinton episode. While Clinton perused his
files, Monica would sit beneath the table and “help”
him.

352. The Complainant respectfully submits that the selective


reading of scriptures and ancient texts by the accused is
clearly defamatory to him. The Complainant respectfully
submits that asceticism and penance are the necessary
elements of any spiritual practice and the Complainant has
had more than his fair share of ascetic and penantic
practices. The Complainant further submits that he does not
seek a life of luxury. Further, he does not feel any imperative
to pretend that a life of luxury is a hindrance to spiritual
progress. The Complainant states that a life of luxury is not
always an impediment to spiritual progress and the relative
merit of luxury lies in the comfort that it provides to a
religious practitioner to fixate his mind under certain
circumstances.

353. The Complainant submits that the reference by the accused


to the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal is thoroughly
misplaced. Moreover, the Complainant neither seeks nor
allows any female devotee to massage his feet. As such, the
unwarranted imputation by the accused upon the character
of the Complainant is a clear commission of an act of
defamation of his reputation and character.

354. The accused have further stated:

Now when I studied Law, the CD of the saamiyar, it is


that incident that came to my mind. When that girl was
busy “helping”, the swami was casually watching T.V,
enjoying real ice cream.
127

Therefore this kind of roguish swamis do not have the


right even to utter the name of Vishwamitra.

355. The Complainant respectfully submits that the aforesaid


statements of the accused are based on their deliberate and
misguided belief in the truthfulness of the video in question.
By representing to their readers that the video is true and
that it is not morphed or fabricated, the accused have most
blatantly disregarded the basic objection of the Complainant.
Therefore the accused have committed a severe defamation of
the character and reputation of the Complainant.

356. The accused have further stated:

I said Nithyananda got angry very frequently. His anger


is well known even among his closest followers. Even
Raga Sudha had told me, “Swami gets angry very much;
particularly when someone asks questions about young
brahmacharinis, he gets terribly angry, elder brother. Do
not ask such questions”, she would warn me. This
question will justifiably arise in the minds of those who
visit the Bidadi Ashram. If girls of 20 and 21 years,
resembling college girls, roam around as
brahmacharinis, won‟t that question arise? Is
brahmacharyam that easy? Is it so easy to suppress
sexual urge? With the completion of their college
education, the Saamiyar will give them white clothes
and the sacred thread to wear.

Yes, all the brahmacharinis wear the sacred thread.


What shastras say about this, I do not know. This is one
of the perverted acts of Nithyananda.

357. The Complainant respectfully submits that he is never angry


in the manner that the accused have stated. The Complainant
further wishes to state that anger is a valuable emotion and it
has its own place in the scheme of human emotions.
128

358. The accused have further stated:

I have seen many times swami getting angry with


others. A correspondent of a newspaper once asked, “Is
it proper for you to embrace all girls?” I will tell you later
what the saamiyar did in response. But in all his
subsequent lectures, he would unfailingly abuse that
paper and that correspondent. Not a day would pass
without his abusing that paper as “porn magazine”.
Just for one question, so much of a shower of abuse!
(the result of that abuse he is now experiencing through
the newspaper itself).

Such a Saamiyar who gets angry with everybody, never


got angry with me, whatever was my question. With me
he would talk like a friend, crack jokes (“my friend, was
I very rough in today‟s speech?”). He knows with whom
to get angry and with whom not to. Many times I have
asked crooked questions. Even for that, he would reply
laughingly.

359. The Complainant respectfully submits that he plainly


refutes the allegation that the accused have leveled in the
paragraph above. The Complainant further submits that
he has utmost respect for media professionals and
journalists. He would never express any disapproval for
any question raised by a person with an honest and
genuine objective.

360. As to the abuse of a certain journalist by the Complainant,


the accused have simply uttered a blatant lie. The
Complainant respectfully submits that he would never
disapprove the act of a journalist except in the presence of the
journalist in question. As such, the accused have most clearly
committed an act of defamation on the character and
reputation of the Complainant.

361. The accused have further stated:


129

Well, now I will come to the pointed question I had


asked. „Are you a man, woman or an eunuch?‟

“None of the three; I am Ardhanaareeshwar” Saamiyar


replied, and narrated a story as well.

Bringhi Rishi, whenever he went to Kailash, will


circumambulate Lord Shiva, ignoring Uma sitting near
Shiva.

When both sat together, the rishi would come in the


form of bumble bee and worship Shiva by going round
him. Angered by this, Parvathi cursed him saying, “Hey
rishi, since you have insulted me, who am Shakti, you
will lose your shakti.”

When Shiva came to know of this, he gave space to


Shakti on his left side, saying “Shakti and I are one and
the same, and there is no Shiva without Shakti”

This happened only to show that the wife remains in the


heart. The fusion of Shiva and Shakti is what is known
as Ardhanaareeshwar.

Ardhanaari means merged form.

But it has become clear that there is no connection


between the saamiyar and Ardhanareeshwar concept.
Either the swami is a napumsak (napumsak means in
Sanskrit, one devoid of manhood).Otherwise he should
be an eunuch? It is not in our hand that we are born as
man, woman or an eunuch. Butto stop others from
having sex, simply because he could not have sex,
shows only the psycho character of the saamiyar.

Sex Psychologists alone should do research on this and


find an answer. For that Nithyananda should be
available. Be that as it may, how to justify the
Saamiyar, who masquerade as god-incarnate, running
away from the law into hiding, like Veerappan? Is it
130

difficult for the police, who had caught Veerapan, to


catch the Saamiyar? In the first place I have doubt
whether they are searching for the Saamiyar at all.
Can‟t the rat be smoked out? (someone may please
translate this injustice into English and send it to the
Karnataka Police)

The disputed CD shows that Nithyananda, who cannot


enjoy full sex, became a psycho and engaged in a variety
of perverse sex acts.

362. The Complainant respectfully submits that the statements of


the accused in the aforesaid paragraphs are outrageous and
manifestly injurious to the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

363. The Complainant further submits that as stated earlier, he is


blessed with a body of a male. He is therefore a male. As such
he is neither a woman nor a eunuch. As to the imputation of
the accused that he is a napumsak, that is to say that he
cannot perform sexual acts and that he is devoid of manhood,
the accused possess no basis to make such an imputation.

364. The Complainant further submits that he takes no delight


howsoever in preventing another person from having sex that
is endorsed by the society. When the accused allege that the
Complainant seeks to derive perverse pleasure by preventing
others from indulging in sex, the accused have committed the
gravest act of defamation of the reputation and character of
the Complainant.

365. Further, the allegation by the accused that the police were
not vigorously investigating the false allegations is thoroughly
false to their own knowledge. The police, both in the States of
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had exhibited utmost sense of
urgency in pursuing and prosecuting the Complainant. As
such, their imputation against the Complainant is plainly
defamatory to his reputation and character.
131

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure N Annexure N1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 03
Publication:
22-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

366. The accused have stated:

Let‟s now go to the story of Raga Sudha. A friend of


mine was sort of a famous man in Tamil Nadu. He had
no children. He indulged in wine, women and partying.
But still loved his wife dearly. I introduced them both to
Nithyananda. This was the start of the problems. My
friend's wife was very interested in social service and
spirituality. Realizing this, in just two months, the
saamiyar brainwashed the lady and planned to make
her a Sannyasi.

Nithyananda's nature is to find out your weakness and


to aim for it to take you over. My friend had a lot of
trouble in his factory. They did not get resolved how
much ever he tried. Whatever black magic the swami
did, the problems came to an end. But as a cost for
that, he tried to make his wife one of the slaves in the
ashram.

Whenever I asked, my friend said that his wife was in


the Bidadi ashram. Not one or two days, but months on
end the lady started to stay in Bidadi. Till then I haven't
seen my friend in such a state. He was in severe
depression. He stopped going to the factory. Ate in
hotels. More cruel than that was that he changed
beyond recognition to resemble "Devadas" of the old
movies. When I went to see him he said, "It is true that
132

my factory problems were solved by him. But giving that


he has taken away my eyes. My wife was the light of my
soul!”

How will I live separated from her? He said, 'Where I am,


Bliss will overflow'. Now he has taken my life away. Is
this bliss? He is a Satan. A Satan who symbolizes
darkness and sorrow. The house he enters will spoil and
crumble down. I am a witness to that" and saying that in
many ways, cried inconsolably.

Saying „Let me talk to her‟, when I tried to call his wife,


the phone was switched off. He cried again saying "It
has been like this for the past 10 days. I am not able to
even hear her voice". True, when Nithyananda's
meditation classes are on, you are not supposed to keep
the phone on. Also, the course called "Nithyanandam"
goes on for 9 days. You need to switch off your cell
phones for the entire 9-day period. And more than that,
you need to keep silent throughout the 9 days and not
even speak a word.

Many saints have spoken about the greatness of


keeping silence. They say, we make a lot of noise and it
is good for our body and mental health to be silent for a
day of the week. But Nithyananda used it for his selfish
ends. That is, for you to separate from your husband
and children and become a Sannyasi.

367. The Complainant most respectfully submits that everything


stated in the aforesaid paragraph is sheer invention by the
accused. The Complainant further states that the accused
have simply fabricated and created this story out of thin air. If
only the accused would have bothered to name the couple,
the Complainant would have most definitely offered a direct
rebuttal after speaking to the individuals identified by the
accused. Nevertheless, the Complainant submits that he has
133

never come across any incident in which the husband of the


said devotee had ever come to him complaining about the fact
that his wife had abandoned her husband in pursuit of her
devotion towards the Complainant.

368. The Complainant respectfully submits that his millions of


devotees around the world live in perfect compatibility with
their family members or spouses. If only any husband had
complained about loss of consortium to the Complainant, he
would have most willingly asked the wife to revive her
principal devotion towards her husband. The Complainant
has never advocated the separation of matrimonial bond
under any circumstance and he would never engage in any
form of preaching that could result in a loss of consortium
between married couples.

369. The Complainant further submits that the policy at ashrams


established by the Complainant whereby ashramites and
participants in certain programs are forbidden from using
their cell phones during the training hours is highly desirable
and the inconvenience from the enforcement of such a policy
is simply insignificant when compared with the practical
benefits to a participant when he or she adheres to such a
policy. However, the ashrams where such intensive courses
are conducted do have a facility wherein family members who
wish to contact the participants in times of distress or
emergency are always furnished with the phone numbers of
the receptionist or the administrator. At any rate, participants
are free to use their cell phones beyond the training hours
even while within the ashram premises.

370. Therefore, the Complainant respectfully states that the


accused have simply conjured up the aforesaid story and that
the same is a severe defamation of the character and
reputation of the Complainant.

371. The accused have further stated:


134

Nithyanandam is a scary training that this fake


sannyasi gives you to make you one woman amongst
his 3000 slaves. It costs Rs 50,000. My friend has given
such a large amount to send his wife to the
Nithyanandam course. This is what they refer to as
"using your own money to destroy yourself".

If you stay like this without speaking for 9 days and


without being in touch with your family, you can
separate from them permanently. The brainwashing for
that is what happens throughout those 9 days. But the
devotees can talk to the Guru. They would say, "Ma you
can talk to the Guru. Do talk".

This brainwashing is called „unclutching‟. I will write


more details about this later on. Briefly, when you lose
something, there is a sound you make when saying
"ballikowli". Like that, when you place your tongue on
the side of your cheek and separate it, you will make a
similar sound. That is unclutching. To tell it in the words
of the poet Kannadasan "Oh, if it goes, .let it go da".

Since my friend's wife was in silence, I immediately


called Raga Sudha and said that I needed to talk to my
younger sister. Since the 9 days of Nithyanandam were
over, giving into pressure from Raga Sudha, my friend's
wife talked to me on the phone. Do you know what was
the first thing she said? "Brother, I am staying in the
ashram. He too can come here and become an ashramite.
Or he can marry someone else". "Both are not feasible. It
looks here that he might die..". "That‟s not true brother,
He has no death. His body might be destroyed, but his
soul has no end. I have no life after this one. Swami has
given me 'Jeevan Mukthi'. Tell him to come seeking to
swami to get „jeevan mukti.”
135

Feeling that there was no further use in talking to this


lady, I called Raga Sudha. This is not the call I
mentioned earlier that happened at midnight. This one
was in November of last year.

I explained my friend's position to Raga Sudha. I told


her verbatim whatever he said. I strongly warned her
saying that „I will not leave you all alone if you continue
to brainwash that lady‟.

The very next day, they sent my friend's wife to


Chennai. The next day, the swami's secretary called my
friend and said "Normally the devotees call Swami.
However in your case Swami himself has asked me to
talk. You won't have any problems in the future". Saying
that, he also called my friend's wife and scolded her.

“That is - You have to leave your family high and dry


and come here as saamiyar's slave. But there should
not be any problem because of that for saamiyar. Why
do you behave in a manner that causes such problems.
Henceforth, no such complaint should come to the
ashram. But you should come here as a slave.” This was
the summary of that speech.

But did the problem end with this? No. In pubs they
have a concession of free drinks for women on one day
of the week. During those days, a lot of women will
crowd the pubs. To see them, crowds of men will go to
the bars too. This is a business technique. (You might
have recently read a cover story about this in the
"Kumudam Reporter"). Knowing my friend's weakness,
and using the business technique used by pubs, an
indecent plan was being hatched to make him an
ashramite too.

I cautioned that if you brainwash that girl, I will not


leave you…
136

372. The Complainant respectfully submits that he is of the


definite view that the events narrated by the accused in the
aforesaid paragraphs are events concocted by the accused out
of thin air. The accused clearly knew that if only the
Complainant had insisted that couples alone are eligible to
participate in his spiritual courses, a number of individuals
would have simply been deprived of the benefit that they
would have otherwise been entitled to. The Complainant
respectfully submits no form of brainwashing is employed in
any of his ashrams. The accused have simply assumed the
mass of humanity to be extremely gullible and this
assumption is behind much of the mischief contained in their
tirade against religious practitioners.

373. The Complainant further submits that he truly believes that


each individual has to decide his spiritual fate for himself and
that no individual could truly be brainwashed or transformed
against his or her own will. Free will and volition mark every
aspect of a devotee‟s life in the ashrams established and
administered by the Complainant

374. As such, the use of the words like „brainwash‟ is thoroughly


defamatory to the stature and reputation of the Complainant.
The Complainant further submits that the accused were
bound to be aware of the fact that a number of devotees of the
Complainant and an overwhelming number of participants in
his training programs are individuals with significant
educational or professional accomplishment. As such, when
the accused state that the devotees at the Complainant‟s
ashrams are brainwashed, the accused have effectively
discounted the role of each devotee‟s will, volition and
freedom to do as he or she pleases. The Complainant
respectfully submits that the statements attributed to the
imaginary ashramite appears to be crude, dismissive,
irresponsible and demonstrating a severe lack of compassion.
The Complainant further submits that it is further surprising
137

that a married woman would so easily discount and dismiss


the enormous love and affection showered by her husband.
As the accused have also stated of the imaginary husband,
the imaginary husband truly longed for the companionship of
his wife. The Complainant is of the firm conviction however
that none of what the accused have stated in the aforesaid
paragraphs did occur. As to their write up wherein some
imaginary secretary of the Complainant is supposed to have
called their imaginary friend to state that they would not do
anything further to isolate the imaginary wife from the
imaginary husband, the Complainant has reliably ascertained
that no administrator has ever had any such occasion to
confess such wrongdoing and undertake to not repeat further
such wrongdoing. Their comparison of the state of affairs in
the ashrams established and administered by the
Complainant to the state of affairs that avails in certain pubs
is plainly defamatory to the Complainant. As such, by
fabricating and concocting a state of affairs that does not
exist in reality, the accused have most willingly and
deliberately committed defamation of the character and
reputation of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure O Annexure O1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 04
Publication:
25-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

375. The accused have stated:

After I warned Raga Sudha, saamiyar‟s secretary


Sadananda called my friend and assured that 'this
won‟t happen again'. And he called me. 'All that is fine,
138

Ayya. You are trying to enter into my home? Daily 10


phone calls are coming telling me to become an
ashramite. Daily about 10 to 15 people are coming in
person for this. What is going on? They asked for help in
translation. I am doing. Beyond that, what is the
meaning of saying - become an ashramite,' I asked
angrily.

'Really? You are translating? They told you to become


an ashramite?' Sadananda piled up the questions.
Because, just like a nation has cavalry, navy and air
force, Nithyananda ashram has about 50 armies
separately to 'grab' you. One army will not know what
the other is doing. That‟s why Sadananda was clueless
when I mentioned translating. In the end, he concluded
with 'you will not get any more phone calls'.

376. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has


ascertained from Sri Nithya Sadananda that no such
conversation as is referred to in the above paragraphs took
place between him and the accused. It is utterly derogatory to
claim that the Complainant nurtures teams of people to
market and propagate his teachings. There is no such thing
to propagate or market. By creating a false story out of thin
air, the accused have depicted the Complainant in a very false
light and therefore, the accused have committed a clear
defamation of his reputation and character.

377. The accused have further stated:

I got a phone from Bidadi the next day after he spoke.


“There is an amazing opportunity for you to become an
ashramite. Come to Bidadi immediately”.

Ayya, beautiful, mellifluous lady voice. 'Slippers,


Slippers‟ saying to myself, I said, 'If there are
disturbances like this, I will tell swami directly'.
Immediately the girl said, “Nithyanandam Ayya. There is
139

nothing to be angry. Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda


has come in our times as God's incarnation. Isn‟t it our
duty to make use of that? If you agree, swami‟s devotees,
Ma Nithyananda Bamini, Ma Nithyananda Kamini, Ma
Nithyananda Roshini all three, for you ..”

I disconnected the line. But my friend could not be like


that. Little weak. So he fell. That Bamini, Kamini,
Roshini - all are not brahmacharinis, they were trained
by Nithyananda for Upanyasa. Experts in brain
washing. Young women aged between 20 and 40. The
same business technique used in pubs.

378. The Complainant respectfully submits that everything the


accused have stated in the aforesaid paragraphs is utterly
outrageous and is wholly false and devoid of all truth. The
Complainant wishes to further state that the names Ma
Nithyananda Bamini, Ma Nithyananda Kamini and Ma
Nithyananda Roshini are names that the accused have
conjured for their imaginary characters. No such names were
devised by the Complainant to address any of his devotees.

379. As such, the acts of accused of inappropriate comparison of


the Complainant‟s affairs with the happenings in a pub are
utterly defamatory to the good name and reputation of the
Complainant.

380. The accused have further stated:

Friend's wife went to Bidadi again. In this, another


amusing thing is, in the ashram, women devotees from
millionaire households will be washing eating plates
that were used. Like that, they will be doing errands
like, sweeping the floor, cleaning the toilets, lining up
devotees' footwear. The first question I ask these
millionaire women who don‟t even lift a finger in their
households is, 'What is your husband doing in your
place?' Nobody gave a straight answer. Un-Clutch, Un-
140

Clutch, Un-Clutch. Get reminded of the Hindi curse


word beginning with 'behen'

I will come to my friend's story. After the wife ran away


to Bidadi the friend's state became worse.

'Not able to sleep in this big house. Sleep doesn‟t come


in the night. Loneliness is pressing my neck and killing
me. I feel left alone in this world. Even alcohol is not
doing anything. A big darkness has engulfed me. I am
leaving to find freedom from this pain'. Month of
January – don‟t remember the date - I got this message
from that friend at 10 in the night. I ran helter skelter to
his house. It had happened like I had thought. The
friend had consumed too much of sleeping pills. Even if
I had come a little late, he would be gone. Usually I
switch off the phone in the night. Fortunately because it
was on that night, it was possible to save the friend's life

After admitting the friend to the hospital I called Raga


Sudha at midnight. My voice sounded different even to
me. 'Raga Sudha, aren‟t you a Malayali? (Raga Sudha is
K.R. Vijaya's sister's daughter). Call Kerala and ask who
is Charu Nivedita. I am saying this the last time. If you
do not stop the confusion you are creating in my
friend's life, tomorrow morning, my interview about your
Swami will appear in Malayalam newspapers. That‟s all
I will say." Saying this, I ended the call. What I told
Raga Sudha in the middle of the night, reached
Saamiyar immediately.

The next day, early morning, Saamiyar invited friend's


wife directly, scolded and sent her to town. "There is
something wrong in you" apparently he said in English.
This is why I am saying that scoundrel has to be stoned
to death.
141

381. The Complainant respectfully submits that much of the


aforesaid paragraphs depict stories and events that merely
exist in the imagination of the accused and that which never
took place. Ashramites and volunteers at the ashrams
established by the Complainant are not discriminated on the
basis of their pre-monastic wealth. Further, the task of
cleaning utensils, washing the floors, sweeping the premises,
and flushing the bathrooms and toilets are voluntarily
assumed by the ashramites and no person is compelled to do
anything that is not to his liking. As the accused have stated,
several women from millionaire backgrounds might not have
been familiar with many of these tasks. Still, such women
willingly and voluntarily assume the responsibility to do these
tasks.

382. The fact that the accused take exception to such acts merely
speaks to their own estimate of the worth of such labour. The
Complainant respectfully submits that there is inherent
dignity in every human labour and endeavour. The person
who persistently sweeps the floor and keeps it clean and
usable is rendering a valuable a service to the humanity to
the same extent as another person who writes for the benefit
of others. The Complainant does not recognize any inherent
distinction between the two classes of work.

383. The Complainant respectfully submits that the only element


that distinguishes one class of work from another class is the
extent of devotion that attends the performance of such work.

384. The accused have further stated in a very casual manner, an


incident where their imaginary friend tried to take out his
own life by consuming too many sleeping pills. As the accused
have claimed, their imaginary friend was on the verge of death
and that the accused saved him from termination by rushing
towards him and admitting him to a hospital. Considering the
fact that the accused seem to be thoroughly excited with
142

narrating ceaseless drama, it is respectfully submitted that


the accused have not cited any further detail with regard to
the said incident involving their imaginary friend.

385. The Complainant further submits that an attempt to commit


suicide is always an extraordinary occasion and the fact that
the accused seem to leave out the details of such an occasion
can only lead to one conclusion – the above narration is yet
another instance of their concoction and fabrication.

386. Further, the alleged threat by the accused to Raga Sudha that
the accused will publish something about the Complainant in
the Malayalam papers is contrary to journalistic ethic and
profession. If there was improper conduct on the part of the
Complainant whereby some individual was compelled to take
the drastic step of committing suicide, the accused should
not have negotiated with an unconcerned person on whether
to fulfill their journalistic duty of reporting truth to their
readers. The Complainant respectfully submits that the fact
that the accused claim to have negotiated with Raga Sudha is
a fitting reminder to the manner in which the accused
discharge their journalistic obligation. It was not for Raga
Sudha or for any other person to decide their journalistic
content. Further, no such scolding as is attributed to the
Complainant did take place. As stated earlier, the entire chain
of events as narrated by the accused seems to have been
carefully concocted and fabricated by the accused for the sole
purpose of defaming the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

387. The accused have further stated:

Brainwashing family women and as brahmacharinis


making them do slave work for him. If they are young
women, using them for 'ice-cream' work. If there is
opposition, sending them home saying 'there is
something wrong in you' .This is what that man
143

(referred to in singular) has been doing for the last 5


years.

Brahmacharinis of the ashram and Satsang


mouthpieces called and chatted with me for hours.
Because I like women who are God's creations, just like
God, I will listen to what they are saying. How would it
be if a lady calls at midnight and talks in a seductive
voice? Raga Sudha herself has spoken to me like that
many times. But she would call me "Anna". Should not
blame.

'Can brahmacharinis chat for hours with a man like


this? What ashram is this? What brahmacharyam is
this?' I would think often. At the same time it would be
fearsome also. It is alright if it is some other place. This
is the place where God himself has come down as an
incarnation. My mind would be confused: can chatting
be done with women from this place, that too
brahmacharinis? But the phone call is coming from
there is it not? I have never called there myself.

388. The Complainant has most reliably ascertained that one Ma


Nithya Supriyananda did communicate with the accused on 6
or 7 different occasions concerning his proof reading work.
Further, at no point of time, did Ma Nithya Supriyananda or
Raga Sudha talk to the accused in a seductive tone.

389. The Complainant respectfully submits that he always


advocates moderation in talk and speech. As such, if the
accused had noticed inappropriate speech from any
ashramite or other devotee of the Complainant, such
inappropriate speech was not attributable to anything that
the Complainant had taught or propagated. The fact that the
accused have attributed everything objectionable that the
accused have perceived in the conduct of one or two devotees
to the Complainant‟s design is a clear indication of their
144

intention to defame the character and reputation of the


Complainant.

390. The Complainant respectfully submits that there is strict


segregation of the sexes in all of his ashrams and that no
ashramite is allowed to inappropriately mingle with any
member of the opposite sex. Their further allegation that an
ashramite was persistently calling the accused to force upon
the accused to become an ashramite has been verified and
found to not be true. No such call was ever made and no
invitation was extended to the accused to become an
ashramite.

391. As such, by imagining a compulsion from their imaginary


characters the accused have definitely defamed the character
and reputation of the Complainant.

392. The accused have further stated:

As it was going like this, one day a young


brahmacharini called and started the old message
“there is an amazing opportunity for you to become an
ashramite”. How many days can I tolerate because it is
women? That was my day. I will take care of this, I
thought and said, 'What opportunity?' ashram branch is
coming to Chennai. “Swami is going to build multi-
storeyed homes at a big location near ECR road. There,
you and your lady can move in as ashramites” she said.
The way she said sounded like Auroville in Puducheri.

'Alright, have you invited Jagi Vasudev and Sri Sri


Ravishankar? If they come and become your
ashramites, I will come and join' I said.

The girl didn‟t understand.

What then? I‟m telling you again and again. I am a


writer. Like your swami, Jaggi Vasudev and Sri Sri
Ravishankar, I am an institution. Whatever information
145

your swami has brought for people of the world, like


that each writer has brought information. With that the
case, why should I come and join your ashram? Why
are you torturing me like this? Will your swami go and
join Jagi Vasudev's or Sri Sri Ravishankar's ashram?

No. That girl didn‟t understand anything I said. For all


Nithyananda's slaves, they only know to repeat what
that swami told them like parakeets, not to listen. They
are talking dolls who have been given saffron. They
don‟t have ears.

They put another kind of trap, after deciding it‟s not


worth talking to me like this. One midnight a young
brahmacharini called me and started to talk to me for a
long time about similarities (!) in my work and Osho's
opinions on sex. That‟s the first time a desire to join the
ashram came to me.

393. The Complainant respectfully submits that he never had any


plans to establish any business on any property in any
location near ECR road in Chennai. As such, their further
allegation that some unknown ashramite had marketed such
non-existent plans is without any basis. Their needless
reference to saints such as Jaggi Vasudev and Sri Sri
Ravishankar was unwarranted and inappropriate. It is
improper on their part to depict the ashramites and certain
other persons as individuals without a sense of timing or
social sensitivity.

394. To the extent the accused depict the devotees of the


Complainant as individuals who lack the freedom of thought
and speech, the accused insinuate the Complainant himself
for the acts of his devotees. The devotees of the Complainant
are extraordinarily compassionate individuals who would
never compel another person to do anything against his or
her own wish. It is the height of insensitivity and hostility on
146

their part to characterize the devotees of the Complainant as


slaves. Further, it is unfathomable why the accused would
entertain a late night call from a devotee and it is even more
mysterious on why the accused would entertain a devotee to
talk to him about sexual issues at odd hours into the night.

395. The Complainant has the greatest degree of faith in all of his
devotees and none of his devotees have done any such thing
as the accused have described in the aforesaid paragraphs.

396. Therefore, by fabricating a state of things that do not exist in


reality, the accused have most atrociously committed
defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure P Annexure P1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 05
Publication:
29-Apr-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Mathew Raj Accused No. 18
A.V.Anand Accused No. 15
Charu Nivedita Accused No. 10

397. The accused have stated:

Yes! On the 2nd March with so much of sensation


started Nithyananda‟s lonely run and has finally ended
in the Himachal Pradesh in a small village. Whatever
happened starting from Nithyananda CD till the arrest,
has made his many thousands of devotees to hang their
head down.

Nithyananda‟s matter does not need big flash backs.


The CD in which Nithyananda was playing with
147

Ranjitha was released in a channel. Then his ex-disciple


Lenin Karuppan gave complaint on Nithyananda to
Chennai Police Commissioner. After that, case was
registered on Nithyananda in six sections like rape,
fraud, threat to murder… all these haven‟t moved from
our mind even an inch?

In a situation that the claims over Nithyananda have


shifted to Karnataka, where did he go? What happened
to him? This information was not known totally.
„Disappeared‟ Nithyananda then three times appeared in
TV and gave self explanation but nothing worked out.

398. The Complainant respectfully submits that while the accused


may form an opinion that many thousands of devotees of the
Complainant might have had to hang their head in shame,
the accused cannot discount the fact that many devotees of
the Complainant also stood by him during those moments of
crisis.

399. Further, the Complainant submits that much of what


transpired during those 50 days were unwarranted comments
from a section of the media on a matter assumed to be true
and never investigated in sufficient detail. The video that the
Complainant has always claimed to be morphed and
fabricated constituted the sole basis for unending criticism of
the Complainant by some journalists and public
commentators.

400. As such, by drawing a false but sweeping conclusion on the


response of millions of his committed devotees, the accused
have defamed the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

401. The accused have further stated:

On the claims on Nithyananda, apart from 2 claims,


others came to the hands of Karnataka CID police. Then
148

immediately they dug and searched three times in the


Bidadi ashram of Nithyananda which is 35 k.ms far. It
seems at that time with sandal wood, a lot of Indian and
foreign currency was trapped.

402. The Complainant respectfully submits that the only cases


that the Karnataka Police happened to investigate at the
relevant time were the two cases that were filed in Chennai
and subsequently transferred to Karnataka on the point of
jurisdiction. When the accused claim that a lot of Indian and
foreign currency was found, the accused have deliberately
and falsely suggested that monies were found beyond the
limits specified under the foreign exchange laws. Foreign
currency was found to the tune of a few thousand dollars only
and the same was fully within the limits stipulated under the
foreign exchange laws in force in India. Further, Indian
currency that was similarly discovered by the police was
money that was properly accounted for and ran into no more
than a few thousand Rupees. By deliberately giving an
impression to their readers that massive sums of money
might have been seized at the Bidadi ashram, the accused
have knowingly and falsely sought to influence the minds of
their readers negatively towards the Complainant.

403. The Complainant further submits that their imputation is


therefore without a basis and is clearly defamatory to the
character and reputation of the Complainant.

404. The accused have further stated:

Meanwhile, „Where did Nithyananda go? What happened


to him?‟ As these questions were bothering the police
circle, the Karnataka special team have now arrested
him in Himachal Pradesh with a question. “Ah! Are you
here?”
149

How did Nithyananda get caught? When we started


investigating this, a lot of interesting information came
and dropped down.

As soon as the problem regarding Nithyananda started,


the Karnataka CID police started watching the cell
phone numbers of eight Anandas including important
administrator Sadananda. The police got irritated since
they were changing SIM cards very often, and as the
next step, it started watching important business
owners who were in close connection with the ashram
also.

It was here that Gopal Sheelum Reddy (alias)


Bhaktananda got caught. Because no one will doubt
him, ashram administration has given all the secret
activity regarding the case.

As Bhaktananda did not know that police were watching


him, a few days before, with the intention to get
anticipatory bail for Nithyananda, to get Nithyananda‟s
signature in the application for it, he got ready to go to
Himachal Pradesh.

As Karnataka CID police was keenly recording


Bhaktananda‟s cell phone calls like a keen snake,
decided that Bhaktananda‟s next move is Himachal
travel. As CID came to know that Nithyananda is hiding
in Solan district in Himachal Pradesh and there are four
ashram administrators along with him, took this
information to Karnataka DGP.

After this the information passed on to Chief Minister


Yeddyurappa. Because we are saffron party the opposite
parties abused us. He gave green signal in Nithyananda
case to look at it through law without any favoritism.

405. The Complainant respectfully submits that he was in no


hiding. Further, any person who wishes to hide and evade the
150

process of law would not seek an anticipatory bail from a


court of law. The accused have stated two contrary acts in the
same vein – that the Complainant was seeking anticipatory
bail and that the Complainant was in hiding. To repeat, a
person who wishes to hide and evade the process of law
would not move for anticipatory bail. The moving for an
anticipatory bail is a part of expressing one‟s commitment to
the process of law. The accused were bound to be aware of
the fact that a person who seeks anticipatory bail goes to the
court with an expectation that should he be granted such
anticipatory bail, the court concerned would invariably
impose a condition that he shall co-operate with the
investigation to the fullest extent. The Complainant was not
in hiding at the relevant time. He had received credible
information that several conspirators were whipping up
public emotion for the purpose of creating situations of public
disturbance around his presence. The Complainant was also
led to believe that his closest disciples would be targeted by
certain antisocial elements with a view to take advantage of
the volatile situation.

406. There were credible reports about a threat of murder of the


Complainant by certain vested interests. While the
Complainant would not fear any threat to his own life, he was
compelled to stay away from the volatile situation at Bidadi by
remaining in North India at that relevant time for the
protection of his closest administrators. The Complainant
further submits that notwithstanding the fact that he never
gave an interview to their magazine at the relevant time, he
did brief a section of the media in North India itself at the
relevant time. Further, the Karnataka police or for that
matter, the Tamil Nadu police clearly possessed information
on the place where the Complainant had spoken to the media.
It was never the intention of the Complainant to evade
detection by police. It was more than necessary for the
151

Complainant at that relevant time to participate in his own


investigation to the fullest extent and to demonstrate the
truth to the public and to separate it from fiction that was
incessantly reported by many media outlets.

407. As such, the reports by the accused are wholly distorted and
constitute a clear attempt on their part to defame the
character and reputation of the Complainant.

408. The accused have further stated:

After the complete blessing of Karnataka Government,


last 17th Karnataka government‟s CID sections
additional DGP Bandari, DSPs Hussain and
Chandrasekar and a special team travelled to Himachal
Pradesh. As they came to know Bhaktananda‟s travel by
the help of cell phone and as soon as they went, they
also quickly understood that they cannot trace and
catch Nithyananda in Himachal Pradesh that quickly.

Even then, this team went around Solan district with


the help of local police. One taxi driver informed that
there a saamiyar from southern side is staying in
Mumleek village. “Every day to go to market the
secretary of Southern country Saamiyar assistant comes
in my car only” the taxi driver said. The special team
had enquired about the saamiyar‟s physical form.

As driver‟s information on physical identities matched


Swami Nithyananda, CID police with bright face rushed
towards swami‟s house.

The one who was there was absolutely Nithyananda


himself. He and along with him Nithya Bhaktananda,
Sanathanananda, Aript Sangli, Arul Raj all the four
people are surrounded by police.

409. The Complainant respectfully submits that while it is true


that at the relevant time, the Complainant and a small group
152

of devotees were lodged in a devotee‟s residence in Solan


district of Himachal Pradesh, neither the Complainant nor
any of his devotees made any effort to evade detection either
by the locals or by the police at Himachal Pradesh. The
Complainant was fully aware of the fact that the fabricated
and morphed video was constantly beamed on television
channels across the country and that the people of Solan
were bound to be aware of his presence.

410. Moreover, as stated by the accused, the secretary of the


Complainant freely walked onto the market and made no
effort to evade detection by the public. The accused were
certainly aware that a highly publicized person and his team
would not freely roam into the market if only their primary
intention to reside in that locality was to avoid detection by
the police.

411. The accused were further bound to be aware of the fact that
the Karnataka Police did not indicate to the persons at the
ashram that they were seeking to arrest the Complainant. All
that the Karnataka police did at the relevant time was to visit
the ashram premises and to ask for whereabouts of the
Complainant. The Complainant was never made aware of any
intent by the police to arrest him. In fact, the Complainant
learnt much later that a notice to the effect that the police
were desperately seeking him was pasted outside his ashram
at Bidadi only on the morning of the day on which he was
arrested at Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

412. One of the reasons for the Complainant to have sought for
anticipatory bail was to address the persistent outrage by
some hostile journalists and their publications that the
Complainant had not been arrested. It was felt by the
Complainant that an effective method to address persistent
demands by some hostile journalists who were demanding the
arrest of the Complainant was to secure an anticipatory bail
153

from a court of law. As such, the Complainant respectfully


submits that he was not in hiding at the relevant time.

413. As such, their own reports clearly reveal that the


Complainant was freely recognized in Solan. Therefore, their
frequent characterization of the Complainant as “a person in
hiding” is completely false and is highly derogatory and
defamatory to his character and reputation.

414. The accused have further stated:

The house in which Nithyananda was staying is owned


by Maninder Singh who lives in Delhi. For the past one
month Nithyananda is staying there only. What is
special is, from Nithyananda Rs.3 lakhs cash, American
dollars 7000, 3 video cameras, 8 cell phones and 3
laptops were taken. It‟s also known that Nithyananda
spoke to many foreign countries through those cell
phones.

415. The Complainant respectfully submits that he never carries


any cell phone with him. There is no cell phone that is
registered in the name of the Complainant or reserved
exclusively for his own use. When necessary and critical, the
Complainant uses the cell phone of his closest disciples.

416. Further, the Complainant respectfully submits that the


accused seem to make a big issue about using a cell phone to
make an international call. Almost every registered cell phone
in use in India today comes with a facility to make an
international call. The Complainant fails to understand the
scope of their reference to the possibility that the
Complainant might have spoken to individuals in London,
America or other overseas jurisdictions. A number of devotees
of the Complainant are resident in overseas jurisdictions and
certain critical communication between them and the
Complainant is bound to have taken place in those days of
154

interest to the accused. The accused possess no basis to take


exception to such conduct.

417. As such, by creating a false account, depiction and


significance of materials seized by the police from the
Complainant and his disciples at Solan, the accused have
clearly defamed the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

418. The accused have further stated:

Meanwhile bored being under cover, Nithyananda, as


per the advice of Lingayath societies Balagangadhara
Swami, one news says, that Nithyananda himself gave
information and got arrested.

419. The Complainant respectfully submits that the aforesaid


paragraph is nothing more than a rumor about a non-existent
state of affairs. The Complainant would always do what is in
the best interest of his disciples. In the best interest of his
disciples at the relevant time, the Complainant felt that it was
appropriate to stay and reside at Himachal Pradesh. The
Complainant holds Balagangadharanatha Swami of
Karnataka in great regard and respect.

420. Further, Balagangadharanatha Swamiji is not the spiritual


head of the Lingayath community. Rather, he is the spiritual
head of the Vokkaliga community in Karnataka. By needlessly
talking about spiritual seers from certain castes, the accused
have painted a picture of a false political conspiracy. As such,
the accused have committed a blatant defamation of the
highest order against the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

421. The accused have further stated:

While the situation is like this, and also in the state in


which the requested bail is rejected from Ramnagar and
Karnataka high court respectively, this sudden arrest
155

has happened. In this, what other surprise turns are


going to take place is not known.

422. The accused have clearly stated that the Karnataka High
Court had also rejected the anticipatory bail application of the
Complainant at the relevant time. The Complainant states
that the anticipatory bail application was not even applied for
at the relevant time in the Hon‟ble Karnataka High Court.

423. The accused have further stated:

Box message:

Anivagukkumvazhakkugal…

Queued up cases…

On Nithyananda the cases on more than six sections


including those threat to murder are filed by
Dharmananda alias Lenin and lawyer Angayarkanni.

In specific the fraud complaint given by Douglas Mc


Keller who belongs to America is going to be investigated
in America. Now on Lenin complaint only Nithyananda
is arrested.

“So far many who hesitated to give complaint on


Nithyananda thought that with the help of politicians
Nithyananda will escape, so giving complaint is waste.
Now as Nithyananda got arrested, many will come
forward to give complaint,” says police with belief.

424. The Complainant respectfully submits that no accusation of


murder was leveled against the Complainant by the police
either at Tamil Nadu or at Karnataka at the relevant time.
Further even after completion of investigation, no case of
murder has been registered against the Complainant as of
this date. Therefore by deliberately misrepresenting the state
of events to say that the Complainant was charged with the
commission of a heinous crime like murder, the accused have
156

committed an irreversible defamation of the reputation and


character of the Complainant.

425. The accused have further stated:

As a coin has two sides, the other side of truth is lie, for
good it‟s bad, same way, for God it is Satan. From Jesus
to Adisankara everyone has told this. (The one who is
ghost is the sinner who kills people. Yowan: 8:44) Like
this only I got fooled by the Satan who is Nithyananda. I
started thinking that I want to become an ashramite by
the continuous request of the young girls from the
ashram. But there were some hurdles for it, because I
am a pure non-vegetarian. The only vegetarian food I
have is tea and coffee. Apart from that even in greens I
sprinkle little Chennangunni (a variety of fish) powder.
The girls from ashram said, „Its „ok‟ for you as swami
has said not to interfere in Ayya‟s food habits.‟

426. The Complainant respectfully submits that “young girls” from


the ashram were still girls above the legal age of 18. The
Complainant respectfully submits that non vegetarian food
has never been permitted at any of the ashrams established
and administered by him. No exception has ever been made
and no such exception shall ever be made for any person
howsoever high he might be. As such, it is wholly derogatory
on their part to say that the Complainant consented to their
consumption of non-vegetarian food in the ashrams
established and administered by him. Thereby the accused
have committed a grave defamation of the character and
reputation of the Complainant.

427. The accused have further stated:

This happened in my client Vasaki‟s family. She has two


children. Son is a college student and daughter is a
school student. One day she took her husband and
children for saamiyar‟s NSP program. (Rs.4000 is a
157

ticket per person) Her husband and the children don‟t


believe in this but somehow my client Vasaki made
them to accept. But in a few days after they went to NSP
and came back, saamiyar‟s terrible sex CD got released
in the TV. Think about what would happen to the state
of Vasaki. On the first day when it got released
somehow they hid it from their children by switching off
the TV. But their student colleagues in their school and
college have mocked them showing the brass Bangle
with the inscription „Nithyanandam‟ put in their hands
by Nithyananda. With it, those terrible scenes also were
shown on the TV many times. The children came home
and broke and threw the saamiyar‟s picture which was
in the Puja room. Till today they are not speaking
properly to their parents.

Vasaki told me weeping that her children will not even


come to a temple. For the first time she took them to
that program, hereafter I don‟t know whether they will
even believe God.

Like this, not in one family, Nithyananda has made


problem in lakhs of family and destroyed people‟s belief
in spirituality. This only my friend said jokingly as
„spreading intellect‟.

428. The Complainant respectfully submits that he is led to believe


and state that everything the accused have stated in the
aforesaid paragraph is a sheer lie. The Complainant further
wishes to state that countless devotees have braved the
hostile environment around them to assert their allegiance to
him. Therefore, had the accused only bothered to state the
name of the devotee in question, the Complainant would have
most willingly ascertained if what the accused have described
did indeed occur with the devotee in question. Nevertheless,
given their reputation for repeatedly fabricating stories out of
158

thin air, the Complainant is of the definite view that aforesaid


paragraphs are nothing but their own imagination.

429. Therefore, the accused have most clearly defamed the


character and good name of the Complainant.

430. The accused have further stated:

We are seeing that Nithyananda is hiding and signing as


Paramahamsa Nithyananda in the documents which he
is sending to the outside world. It is usual to sell his
books in meditation classes. (Lying saamiyar himself
produced, they will sell everything apart from rice,
tamarind and chilli, including shampoo - everything is
money, money, money!) One message will come saying
that if the books are bought there, saamiyar himself will
autograph the books. I too got lured and bought a book.
I saw it signed „Om‟ in Sanskrit. When I asked saamiyar,
„Is this what is your name?‟ He released a lie saying
“saamiyar has no name”. Now I understand to sign for
thousands of people Paramahamsa Nithyananda hands
will pain; then to press the hand we need to catch
another actress; with that the time also can be saved,
that is why saamiyar has signed „Om‟ in short!

Can anyone even imagine like this I wonder. They say


Siva‟s asset will destroy the whole community. If the
thief takes Siva‟s asset, his whole clan will be destroyed.
When it is like that will anyone use the Om vibration to
make money? Will not even the worst thief be afraid to
do that? This Om vibration and Christians‟ Amen,
Muslims‟ Amen and Tibetans‟ hmm everything has a
similarity.

Nithyananda who played with this divine word told me a


made up story too. When he was to take passport
initially, he made the officer who came to take his
signature go around for more than a week. The reason
159

is, he doesn‟t know which name to give. “Saamiyar


doesn‟t have a name. So finally I signed OM”. What a big
lie this is! Is his name OM in passport? Then why is he
signing as Paramahamsa Nithyananda after he has got
into sex scandal?

Not just doing forgery in the name of God; Saamiyar


says even the name Paramahamsa Nithyananda is given
by an avatar Purusha who is walking around in the
form of human being. The great soul who is living
defying death, is living for many thousands of years in
the same body. He has spoken to Jesus. He has given
yoga initiation to Adi Sankara and Kabir. You also know
him very well…

431. The Complainant respectfully submits that everything that


the accused have conveyed in their aforesaid paragraph is
blatantly misrepresented. The significance of signing the book
by writing OM on it instead of affixing one‟s regular signature
is largely spiritual in significance. The reason why the
Complainant chose to draw a „OM‟ on some of the books
presented to him was not to save the trouble or pain of having
to place his signature on each such book. As the accused
might have clearly seen in these books, the word „OM‟ has
been authored with much care and precision.

432. The Complainant further submits that if only the accused had
adopted a detached perspective that is so necessary for a
professional journalist, the accused would have realized that
it takes far more effort and pain to carefully write the word
„OM‟ on every book that is presented to the accused than to
merely write one‟s signature on each such book. The fact that
the accused could not notice such obvious aspect is clearly a
further proof that their journalistic orientation has been
thoroughly suppressed in their pursuit of hatred against the
Complainant. The accused could have simply done the
160

following exercise themselves to determine which one of the


two activities involves more physical labour, effort and pain:

a. to sign one‟s name on 100 similar sized books


OR

b. to carefully write the word OM on each on the


100 similar sized books.

433. Further, it is submitted that the Complainant was not


intimate with the accused in a manner that the accused has
repeatedly stated. The Complainant did not perceive any
degree of commitment or integrity in the accused during his
limited interaction with the accused. The Complainant further
submits that he has put the word „OM‟ to approved and
proper uses only.

434. The Complainant further submits that he did not and could
not have signed his passport with the word „OM‟ simply
because a passport is a travel document and is not a religious
book to merit the word „OM‟. Being a travel document that is
issued by the Government of India, every passport insists on
the accurate affixation of one‟s signature. The Complainant
has accordingly placed his signature on his passport. It is
utterly defamatory on the part of the accused to have
formulated such fabrications as contained in the aforesaid
paragraphs.

435. Further, when the accused state that a passport officer would
visit a person to collect his signature, the accused have
demonstrated an absolute ignorance about the manner in
which a passport is procured in this country. No passport
officer is ever going to visit the doorstep of an applicant to
receive the signature of that applicant. Every applicant is
required to affix his signature on his application at a
designated spot and such signatures are thereafter detached
from the application form and pasted onto a passport. In case
of doubt or suspicion, a passport officer would summon the
161

applicant concerned to offer an explanation. Never will a


passport officer visit the doorstep of the applicant himself. If
only however, a passport officer would mistakenly visit the
doorstep of an applicant, it is outlandish to also say that the
officer concerned would further remain in the premises and
wander there for a week.

436. As such, the accused have committed an irreparable


defamation of the character and reputation of the
Complainant by making such false statements.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure Q Annexure Q1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 06
Publication:
02-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

437. The accused have stated:

Thousands of people who were affected by Nithyananda


feel this should not happen in his case also. Because,
even if the Bidadi ashram was in Karnataka the people
who were affected by him were Tamils only. We should
remember the fact that Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
jointly worked when dealing with Veerappan. At least,
Veerappan destroyed only the animals in the forest, but
Nithyananda not only hurt the religious sentiments of
the people he also destroyed many families. He has
separated many young girls from their parents and
given them the name of brahmacharinis and made them
his slaves. He has captured the wealth of many
thousands of people. The amount of 5000 Crores has
been gathered by him in this manner only.
162

When the police encircled and captured him hiding in a


small village in Himachal Pradesh he had with him 3
lakh rupees and 7000 American dollars. I think he
would be the only saamiyar in the world to have such a
huge amount as pocket money. All right! This pocket
money is small for the property amount of 5000 Crores.

I will come to the matter. Since the people affected by


Nithyananda's criminal activities were mainly Tamils,
the Tamil Nadu government should take over this case.
In Karnataka Nithyananda's one day meditation
programme named Kalpataru will take place in
Kannada itself and for that no money is charged. Even
then there would be just ten to twenty people attending
that programme. I myself have seen this many times
and have been full of surprise. This same kalpataru
programme when held in Tamil Nadu, the charge for
each person will be from 1000 to 5000 rupees. The
number of people attending would be not less than
5000 in number. Do you now understand how gullible
Tamils are? That is why I am telling you, go and drag
and bring that Saamiyar to Tamil Nadu.

438. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


expressed a deep desire to seek mob justice inflicted on the
Complainant. To ask for mob justice through the medium of a
newspaper or a magazine is itself a certain offence under the
penal laws of this country. The accused were further aware
that one of the four individuals who was present with the
Complainant at the time of his arrest in Solan, Himachal
Pradesh was an American permanent resident. As such, a
sum of 7000 United States Dollars found in the company of
individuals of whom one is a permanent American resident is
not an extraordinary matter. The said sum of 7000 USD is
well within the permitted legal limit. As to their claim that the
Complainant has more number of devotees from Tamil Nadu,
163

the same is a matter of fact. However when the accused claim


that Tamil people are very gullible because they have chosen
to express faith or devotion in the Complainant, the accused
have committed an unpardonable defamation of a very noble
and sacred class of people – the Tamilians.

439. As such, the accused are thoroughly mistaken when they


express disenchantment with the choice of the Tamil people.

440. The accused are not an appropriate representative of the


Tamil people. The Complainant has not the slightest
hesitation in calling the Tamil race as the race with much
compassion.

441. As such, by seeking to create public hostility against the


Complainant, the accused have most seriously committed a
grave act of defamation on the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

442. The accused have further stated:

The cheating Nithyananda has done is countless. I will


just give one example for that. Recently one of my
readers came and met me. Let us keep her name as
Anandi. Hearing her words my heart trembled. What
will Nithyananda do when he enters a family? He will
mesmerize the young girl of that family and make her
into a Saamiarini. Then he will separate the husband
and wife. Because Anandi had a grown up daughter this
did not happen. But he separated Anandi and her
husband. For arguing that in the court he sent a lady to
Chennai from his ashram. That lady has studied law.
Anandi got the divorce and for that do you know what
was the fees demanded by the Saamiyar‟s lawyer? 15
lakhs! In that Anandi has paid up one lakh.

Even as the case was going on, the swamiar put in effort
and succeeded in brainwashing Anandi and he
164

successfully made her into a swamini. Anandi wore the


sacred thread and became a Vanaprasthi in the Bidadi
ashram. But only for two months. She could not bear
the torture of Gnanananda Maharaj.

I asked, 'Was it sexual torture?' She said “No for that


there are young girls. I am middle aged woman.
Therefore I was given a different torture”, she started
narrating.

Readers may remember the torture the ashramites gave


me. I have mentioned about it lightly but other matters
intervened. They will give a 1000 page book and ask for
it to be translated in just two months. Even if we do it
as a full time job it will take at least two years. For such
a job they will give the deadline as two months. But
since I was a writer they were not able to ask me strictly
about it. So hundred people will phone day and night
and give torture. They will also come in person.
Suddenly at 7 a.m. in the morning a phone call will
come.

'Nithyanandam Sir' so starting, a man will ask repeating


my address, „Isn‟t your address ayya'?

'Yes, why are you asking?'

“Sir I am now in kutchery road, I have to come to your


house; tell me some landmark.”

My house is just 5 minutes distance only. I never knew


that such a person is going to come. So with confusion I
asked 'why are you coming? What is the reason?'

“Supriyaamma asked us to collect the 'Living


Enlightenment' translation if it was over”…
(Supriyaamma refers to a 20year old saamiyarini girl)

Look at the torture at 7'0 clock in the morning! Making


my voice harsh I said, 'It is not yet over' and kept the
165

phone down. That whole day I would feel guilty because


I have to turn down someone who wanted to come to my
house. Later without giving a phone call they would
attack in a gorilla fashion by coming directly to my door
step. If this is the case with me, do we need to tell what
would be the problem given to a girl who has joined the
ashram as a brahmacharini?

Anandi referred to Gnanananda in singular. Anandi is a


software engineer. "He will keep some beautiful young
girl by his side and give her some small work. But he will
torture me by giving a work which can be done in one
year and he will ask me to complete it in one week. When
he sees that I am not able to do it he will complain to
swami. Swami will then scold me sharply in front of
everyone. He will not accept whatever I say.
Gnanananda is a sadist.

Anandi kept telling something or the other. She is a


software expert. She could not handle the situation even
for two months and deciding to give up the
Vananprastha, informed it to Nithyananda. Then the
one thing he did made her lose her 15 crore worth of
property to that swami. When she took up
Vanaprastham, Anandi had given her 15 sovereign gold
wedding (thali) chain to saamiyar. As soon as Anandi
informed her decision to leave the ashram swami had
her chain brought and gave it to her. Anandi at that
moment fell in to his actions.

She wrote and gave several acres worth of landed


property in Chennai to saamiyar. Only in the padappai
in the ashram, 3 acres, totally 15 Crores worth property
(Nithyananda planned to build multi-storey apartments
and keep us as ashramites in the lands he had obtained
by cheating, from many people)."
166

After this Anandi's life became more miserable. She had


to live separated from her husband, with her children.
All the cash on hand and property had gone to
saamiyar. To this Anandi who was torn to shreds, with
sorrow, that lawyer lady of that swami planned to
extract more money from her. Anandi received a letter
from her asking for the balance of 14 lakhs for
conducting of her divorce case. I believe many lawyers
would be reading this article. Is there a fee of 15 lakhs
for conducting an ordinary divorce case? I myself saw
the xerox copies of the bill sent by that lawyer of that
swami. That lawyer has mentioned an amount of Rs.
15,000 for sending the petition of complaint to the Chief
Minister 'people's grievance cell'. Rs 15,000 just as
courier expense! Must be the training of swami.

Regarding this when Anandi spoke to swami's secretary


do you know what reply she received? If you listen your
blood will boil. One more thing, Anandi belongs to a
very popular family in the art field.

443. The Complainant respectfully submits that everything that


the accused have stated in the aforesaid paragraphs is
outrageous and is a blatant lie. Notwithstanding that the
accused have said that the accused would want to call some
unfortunate woman who exists merely in their imagination as
Anandi, the Complainant has ascertained with the greatest
reliability that no such woman who fits this description exists
in reality. The Complainant did not engage the services of any
of his devotees or of any other lawyer to secure divorce for
this woman who the accused call as „Anandi‟.

444. Further, the Complainant respectfully submits that the


accused were under a duty to immediately report the said
lawyer to the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu as a fee of Rs. 15
Lakhs to secure a divorce is unheard of and is a clear form of
167

monetary extraction and is therefore a violation of


professional ethics applicable to the practice of advocacy.

445. The Complainant respectfully submits that he is in the least


concerned with the securing of divorce for any of his devotees.
In fact, he would always advise that a married woman should
be compassionate towards her husband and that a married
woman should try to her utmost extent to preserve the
marriage in the larger interest of the welfare of their children.

446. The Complainant has ascertained from Nithya Jnanananda


that he is aware of no such woman ever having come into the
ashram whether at Bangalore or anywhere else. The
Complainant has further ascertained from Ma Nithya
Supriyananda that she never did communicate with the
accused during the hours that the accused have stated and
that her communication with the accused was always at the
time desired by the accused. In all, the communication by Ma
Nithya Supriyananda with the accused did not last beyond 6
or 7 conversations. The so called Anandi, as already stated, is
a mere figment of their imagination. The Complainant further
wishes to state that a sum of Rs. 15,000 being charged by a
lawyer in the name of a courier charge for a document to be
displaced from one part of Chennai to the office of the Hon‟ble
Chief Minister in Chennai is itself outrageous and is a clear
invitation for professional disciplining of the advocate
concerned. Nevertheless, the Complainant respectfully
submits most categorically that everything that the accused
have said in the aforesaid paragraphs is their own perverse
imagination.

447. Therefore, by creating a fictional story for the sole purpose of


damaging the reputation of the Complainant, the accused
have irreparably damaged the reputation of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


168

Annexure R Annexure R1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 08
Publication:
09-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

448. The accused have stated:

The reason for Nithyananda to establish his ashram in


Karnataka rather than Tamil Nadu is, I said a political
leader of Tamil Nadu. He is none other than Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister Kalaignar. In every discourse,
Nithyananda attacks him (Kalaignar) and DMK without
mentioning the name. The DMK and its leader who
came in the Dravidian tradition will be hurdle for
Nithyananda to do fraud in the name of spirituality.
That is why he started the ashram in Karnataka. He
knows very well that without political influence, doing
business with spirituality is impossible.

449. The Complainant respectfully submits that the reason for him
to establish the Dhyanapeetam at Bidadi in the State of
Karnataka is purely rooted in spirituality and has nothing
whatsoever to do with the political parties in Karnataka or
Tamil Nadu. A certain banyan tree that is worshipped in the
Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam at Bidadi is a major incentive for
the Complainant to have established his ashram at that
region.

450. The Complainant however continues to make frequent visits


to Tamil Nadu. Further, he retains an inseparable bond with
his ashram in Tiruvannamalai in Tiruvannamalai district,
Tamil Nadu. The Complainant respectfully submits that the
political relations between the people of Tamil Nadu and
169

Karnataka does not concern him or for that matter any


serious spiritual seeker.

451. The accused have suggested that the Complainant‟s affairs


and activities in the State of Karnataka have the tacit support
and approval of the political masters of Karnataka. It is
grossly inaccurate on their part to state as such. The
Complainant has not sought any favour of any kind from the
Government, administration or the law enforcement in the
State of Karnataka for any of his activity or affair in this state.
All progress of the Complainant in the realm of spirituality is
attributed solely to the solemn relationship between him and
his devotees and not to any favour from any governmental
agency. As such, to imply that the Complainant receives
government patronage to commit fraudulent activity in the
State of Karnataka is wholly defamatory to his reputation and
his character.

452. The accused have further stated:

Moreover, Nithyananda always talks badly (ill) about the


unique culture and fame of Tamilians. In an NSP
program he spoke badly about both Agananooru and
Purananooru. Both of these talk about the richness of
the Tamil culture nearly 2000 years back. But Saamiyar
doesn‟t like anything about Tamil? So he said
“Agananooru is a man running away with a women.
Purananooru is men killing each other”. I have used the
words of Saamiyar as it is.

Hearing this, the friend who was sitting nearby looked


at me and asked with shock, “What is this, your swami
is blabbering like this?” I too didn‟t understand, anyway
I laughingly managed to tell my friend that, „May be for
the God who created the universe,
170

Tamil literature is not known it seems‟ Now only I know


that he told himself as God but he is only a man after
all and doesn‟t know anything about Tamil literature.

It was proved once more in the same NSP that


Nithyananda is an idiot in Tamil literature. A young
actor wrote and gave to him (swami) Tamil poem in
praise of him (swami). That poem was worse than the
ones which will be written by party men for his political
leader. What Swami should have done with that?
Instead of tearing and throwing that garbage he himself
enjoyed reading it to all the people.

Even though Swami didn‟t like Tamil Nadu, those who


got fooled by him are Tamilians. The Brahmacharinis in
his ashram are mostly from Tamil Nadu. Knowing in
advance that he be will taken for a ride in Tamilnadu if
he gets caught in sex scandal wearing saffron, he has
established the ashram in Bengaluru.

453. The Complainant respectfully submits that their statements


in the aforesaid paragraphs are outrageous and distanced
from the truth. The Complainant has the greatest regard and
respect for Aganaanooru and Puranaanooru. The
Complainant has enormous regard, respect and devotion
towards Tamil literature and submits that would never speak
ill about Tamil literature which boasts of an antiquity of
several millennia.

454. The Complainant further submits that he is not of any view


that the Tamil population is tolerant of more deviousness in a
spiritual seeker than it would tolerate in a literary scholar of
Tamil Nadu. It is thoroughly outrageous on their part to have
stated that the Complainant has established his ashram in
the State of Karnataka for the sole purpose of evading
detection by the people of Tamil Nadu for his alleged devious
activities. The Complainant engages in no devious activity.
171

Therefore, the accused have most definitely injured the


reputation and character of the Complainant by making such
outrageous statements.

455. The accused have further stated:

Now after getting caught unexpectedly, he expected that


BJP‟s Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa will help
him. But Yeddyurappa didn‟t help because he was
afraid after looking at people opposing Nithyananda.
But if Yeddyurappa would have acted with focus or
allowed the police to act, it would not have taken 50
days to catch this saamiyar. Even though the police
have surrounded and caught him in the last minute
without allowing him to escape abroad, this needs to be
praised. But they missed Nithya‟s personal secretary
Gopika? She would have been the main witness in this
case but now, even her whereabouts are not known?

456. The Complainant respectfully submits that everything the


accused have stated in the aforesaid paragraph is an
outrageous lie. The Complainant neither sought nor received
any sort of favour from the police, administration or the
political class in the State of Karnataka. The Complainant
further submits that it took 14 days for the Complainants to
be transferred from the State of Tamil Nadu to the State of
Karnataka.

457. The Complainant further submits that the accused have


deliberately feigned ignorance about a basic principle of
criminal law, i.e., the police would arrest a person only if
circumstances warrant such arrest. No citizen deserves to be
arrested simply because some certain journalists write in
their papers asking for such arrest. As such, the accused
have not the slightest information on whether the police
sought to arrest the Complainant at all from the very
inception of the Complaints. The accused are mistaken when
172

they claim that the police sought to arrest the Complainant


on day one and that political influence exerted by the
Complainant stalled such arrest for a period of 50 days. The
accused possess no basis to state that the police were keen to
arrest the Complainant on day one. The arrest of a person
accused of a crime is wholly discretionary to the police.

458. The Complainant further submits that in our system of


governance, no person can be punished merely because some
disgruntled individual lodges a Complaint against a person.
Further, it is not for the police forces to determine the guilt or
innocence of a person. The guilt or innocence of a person can
be determined only by a court of law upon conclusion of a
trial properly conducted for such purpose.

459. As such, their repeated disappointment with the fact that the
police did not arrest the Complainant sooner is a
disappointment that has as its source, ignorance and hostility
towards the Complainant. Further the Complainant
respectfully submits that he had not the slightest imagination
to flee the jurisdiction of India and to travel to a jurisdiction
beyond the extradition power of the Government of India.
When the accused state that the Complainant sought to
escape to a foreign country, the accused have committed an
irreparable defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant. As such, by stating lies and repeating those
very lies, the accused have committed a gross defamation of
the character and reputation of the Complainant.

460. The accused have further stated:

As I wrote what swami will do in police investigation he


has used the same technique. Without cooperating for
investigation he has slept the whole day fooling the
police. I don‟t know about police very much because I
am afraid even to violate traffic rules as I regard it as big
crime against the country. Also no friends in police
173

department, so all my doubt is this, how Nithyananda


was allowed to sleep the whole day? How police did not
know that he is tricking to escape from the
investigation? Will police investigate the terrorist Kasab
who killed public people in Mumbai like this?
Nithyananda has committed a greater crime than them,
Is it not?

Even now when I am writing this I saw the news that


Nithyananda has gone to Hospital saying chest pain.
Good that he said chest pain. But for what he has done
he should have got some other pain?

Looking at Nithyananda‟s shoulders and muscles can


he be said to be saamiyar? He looks like a body builder.
Is it not? When a devotee asked about this he said, “All
this comes because of many types of Yoga exercises”.
But it seems in reality this fellow has lived only eating
items like almond nut, pistachio nut and dried grapes.
When police gave him idly to eat he was adamant that
he will eat only almond and pistachio. Eating like this,
will the mind be in pursuit of spirituality? Will it not
look only for actresses? (Let it be; what muses me very
much is that, after all this happening that person
(swami) is still wearing sleeveless banyan (T-shirt) and
showing off!)

461. The Complainant respectfully submits that everything that


the accused have stated in the aforesaid paragraphs is grossly
mischievous and is completely distanced from the truth. The
Complainant did cooperate with the police during his custody
to the fullest extent. Further, the Complainant did not
pretend to be ill during his custody.

462. The Complainant further submits that he adheres to a certain


discipline on the intake of food. The Karnataka Prisons
manual permits the provision of home food to a person
174

awaiting trial. As such, the Complainant chose to consume


satvic food specially prepared by his devotees in the ashram
instead of consuming the food offered by the police. It is
plainly unthinkable to expect an under trial to demand from
the police, almond nut, pistachio nut and dried grapes. No
such demands were made by the Complainant to the police
during his custody.

463. As such, by fabricating a chain of events that never took


place, the accused have committed a gross defamation of the
reputation and character of the Complainant.

464. The accused have further stated:

Nithyananda is a terrible criminal. This can be known


just by the things what he was using. He was caught
with laptops, mobile phones, CDs, Pen-drives almost
like the volume of a computer store. By a document
which was got in this, the doubt which we had so for is
proved. It‟s the gist of the 10 pages of agreement made
to sign by the woman who come to join in the ashram.

The agreement says, if it is necessary, sexual


relationship may be had with that person. Not only that,
“Both men and women may have to be nude; may have
to watch pictures/visuals related to sex; may have to
learn the art of many types of tantric sex from written
language and by listening; direct training is offered to
members in ancient tantric arts to get into sexual
relationships in a way that they can increase/boost
spiritual joy and freedom. These activities may be
mentally and physically challenging.

No member should show objection for this agreement;


this should not be informed outside at any condition. It
means that those who sign on this, come forward
themselves and offer an unconditional agreement.”
175

This agreement taken by Nithyananda from each and


every woman who comes and joins his ashram is like
the one which challenges the Indian law itself, because
as per Indian law no one can have slaves for sex by
making an agreement; cannot invite for group sex on an
agreement. For example, is it possible for an
organization head to make an agreement with a woman
who comes to that organization to study or to work? „I
will have sex with all those who come and join with me;
you should not say this to anyone; moreover it means
that you are coming to me by your own wish‟. If a
person makes an agreement like this, can there be an
anti-social element like him? Is that what Nithyananda
is doing? As he has made many hundreds (thousands?)
of women as his slaves for sex by making an agreement
which is against the government law itself. Nithyananda
has to be treated as a national criminal.

I wish to tell information about the tantric sex which is


mentioned in the agreement, to the police officers who
are investigating Nithyananda. Then only the intensity
of his crime can be understood. To understand
Nithyananda‟s agreement the film „Caligula‟ directed by
Tinto Brass has to be seen, as this film is regarded as
the height of sexual perversion/lust. Only a person with
mental strength can see this movie. Many have fainted
and even vomited while watching it. This is what
Nithyananda mentions in his agreement (these activities
may be mentally and physically challenging). Because in
those tantric sex acts many varieties of things will be
there including group sex, homosexual, incest, rape,
masturbation. (Caligula had sexual relationship with his
own younger sister. When he thought of marrying her,
the then Romanian law didn‟t permit it) just compare
176

this here that Nithyananda used to call his


brahmacharinis as „Amma‟.

Now, the question I would like to ask, to those like the


head of Tamil publication dept. Supriya and actress
Raga Sudha: Did you sign Nithyananda‟s sex agreement
after reading it? Did he have the above said tantric sex
with you? Once Nithyananda told me, “I am an Aghori”.
Does he eat dead bodies like Aghoris?

465. The Complainant respectfully submits that the statements


made in the aforesaid paragraphs are thoroughly false and
misleading. With respect to the non disclosure agreement, the
Complainant did state certain facts to the Hon‟ble High court
of Karnataka in his Criminal Petition No. 1031 of 2010.

466. Further, the Complainant respectfully submits he was not


even aware of the existence of any of these Non-Disclosure
Agreements until the later part of this year. The Complainant
learnt about the said Agreement from his administrative staff
only in the later part of 2010. The Complainant respectfully
submits that none of the said Non-Disclosure Agreements
even contain his signature. The Police have deliberately
suppressed to this Hon'ble Court, the fact that none of those
Non-Disclosure Agreements contain the signature of the
Complainant. However, should any of those Agreements
contain a purported signature of the Complainant, the
Complainant steadfastedly disputes the same and seeks the
leave of this Hon'ble Court to file a formal complaint of
'forgery' against the provider of such document to the police.

467. Further, the Complainant respectfully submits that he learnt,


in the later part of 2010 that the said Non-Disclosure
Agreements were secured by the administrative staff of the
Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam as a routine protection from an
increasing number of American citizens visiting the
Complainant - the administrative staff at Nithyananda
177

Dhyanapeetam were apprehensive about the threat of


frivolous but punishing lawsuits from motivated or tutored
American or western citizens or residents.

468. The Complainant respectfully submits that the Police have


made baseless inferences on the basis of documents that are
already in the public domain. The Complainant submits that
the 'Non Disclosure Agreements' are not opposed to any law of
India and were primarily drafted for the purpose of limiting
the liability of the trusts and the Complainant in the event
that a foreign citizen who is not introduced to the ways and
means of worship adopted in Indian temples and to the naked
pictures of goddess and idols that adorn some temples finds it
distressful or offensive to discover such a tradition while
participating in a sermon, discourse, tour or pilgrimage
conducted by the Complainant. The Complainant most
respectfully submits that he has never ever had or compelled
any person howsoever to engage in sex as part of his religious
instruction. As such, the claim of the Police that the Non
Disclosure Agreements were designed to facilitate sex is a
mere accusation wholly based on cautious language in the
Non Disclosure Agreement. The Police have failed to note that,
when a typical American lawyer is asked to draft a Non-
Disclosure Agreement for the benefit of an Indian religious
preacher, for use by citizens of the United States and the
western world, any competent drafting would involve the
identification of Hindu practices that are recognised in the
western world as exotic or unusual. As such, the Non
Disclosure Agreements merely disclose the mindset of an
American

469. who would take steps to limit the liability of his client in the
event that the citizens of the United States find some Hindu
practices as offensive. As such, the Non Disclosure
Agreements represent nothing more than an overzealous
178

drafting by an American lawyer for the benefit of an Indian


religious practitioner for use by a citizen of the United States.

470. As such, by engaging in a gross distortion of an actual event


over which the Complainant had no control or supervision,
the accused have most blatantly injured the reputation and
character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure S Annexure S1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 09
Publication:
13-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10
A.Vijay Anand Accused No.15

471. The accused have stated:

In Swami Nithyananda‟s affair, the goat-and-tiger game


that started on March 2nd has reached an exciting
phase. While saamiyar is staying in Ramnagar jail, all
news surrounding the central character in the video –
actress Ranjitha – has been making rounds like mystery
stories. Sixty days later, Ranjitha who broke her silence
through her lawyers said attackingly “They have
destroyed my private life”; but she has not fully denied
the accusations that have been made on her.

Although saamiyar Nithyananda is in the Ramnagar


Women‟s Jail in Karnataka, his immediate need is to get
anticipatory bail from all the cases against him.

Because his disciple Bhaktananda is near him, Swami


Nithyananda is not agitated too much. Dhyanapeetam is
saying that what is happening around him is some sort
of political game. Although Yeddyurappa is managing
179

the opposition party and is projecting the image of a


centrist politician, it is said that all the efforts are being
done to dilute the case against Nithyananda.

On top of that, it is believed that Dhyanapeetam thinks


that if Ranjitha appears before the media for any
reason, then that will hurt the case, so Dhyanapeetam
is carefully hiding and protecting her. Further it is
believed that well known lawyers from Delhi, P.M.
Associates have been retained by Ranjitha. “I will pursue
a case of slander and defamation against YouTube and
Tamil channels and print media which have continuously
spread false claims against me. I will file cases in the
court according to the cyber-crime laws”, Ranjitha said
through the lawyers. It is said that she did this upon
instigation from the ashram.

Bangalore CID Police investigations are ready to even


give shock treatment to Ranjitha, who has played with
them by repeatedly refusing to appear before the CID
Police. „Without coming to the inquiry, actress Ranjitha
has prolonged the case. Even after sending summons,
she has not appeared‟-Using this reason these police are
intensely trying to obtain a warrant from the court to
detain her. Even though Nithyananda has been in police
custody for eight days the police haven‟t troubled him in
any way. With meditation at 5.30am for one-and-half
hours, then puja with flowers, another puja at 12 noon,
and another at 9pm at night, Nithyananda is quiet.
Even though food has been served according to jail
rules, he is determined to return to the ashram soon.

472. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


fabricated most of the accounts contained in their paragraphs
cited above. As stated earlier, the law enforcement spared no
effort in prosecuting the Complainant to the fullest extent. He
180

most reliably states that no kind of effort was initiated by any


person to dilute the accusation and charges against him.

473. As such, by stating that the prosecution against the


Complainant was flawed and that politicians favoured him in
the course of his prosecution, the accused have cast a grave
defamation on the character and reputation of the
Complainant.

474. The accused have further stated:

One of the Bengaluru police who spoke to us said “The


ashram is falsely spreading the news that Nithyananda
is a woman who looks like a man, that‟s why the police
have kept him in a woman‟s jail.

This jail that is in Ramnagar was first built for women.


The façade of the jail still says “women‟s jail”, but
otherwise it has been used now as a jail for men. One
thing that Nithyananda said relating to Ranjitha
surprised us. He told us that when he was studying 10 th
standard in Thiruvannamalai, as a fan he used to keep a
picture of Ranjitha in his bag. Even if he speaks only
once in a while, we receive some interesting news like
this”, the policeman said with a slight smile.

475. The Complainant respectfully submits that the choice of the


jail was not made by him. Rather, the police had lodged him
on the direction of the appropriate Magistrate. After
completion of the police custody, the Complainant was
remanded to judicial custody and the unused women‟s jail
cell in the district of Ramnagar was chosen by the Karnataka
police to lodge him during the period of judicial custody. The
accused were certainly aware that the so called woman‟s cell
in the Ramnagar jail did not have any woman inmate.

476. Further, the Complainant never uttered any such statement,


as claimed by the accused, to the police in the course of his
181

interrogation. With a view to address such reports from the


accused and other media outlets, the Complainant had moved
an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramnagar
District on 19 Mar 2011 seeking an unedited copy of the
interrogation video that was shot throughout the period of his
interrogation by the CID police.

477. In response to the said application, the Karnataka police have


stated to the Court that all statements made by the
Complainant in the course of their interrogation were already
made part of the charge sheet – thereby implying and
establishing that the aforesaid accounts are the accused‟s
own fabrication. The improper story that the accused have
woven in the aforesaid paragraphs that the Complainant
confessed to the police to having had a certain attraction for a
cine actress is a criminal concoction of their own mind and
nothing else.

478. As such, the accused have committed an atrocious


defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

479. The accused have further stated:

First a few questions… Nithya has escaped by doing


comedy during the 8 days that he was in police custody.
Now he has been imprisoned in the Ramnagar jail.
There is no surprise in keeping prisoners who need to
be investigated in jail. But Nithyananda has been kept
in the women‟s jail. Saamiyar is counting bars only
because he was lustful with women. This being the case
what will happen if he is kept in the women‟s jail again?
Won‟t he change that jail also into a sex club like the
Bidadi ashram?

Instead they can imprison him with crafty thieves,


rapists or murderers. This is because he has not only
committed sex crimes. He has done a lot of foreign
182

exchange scam. He would take gold coated rudraksha


mala and kamandalu when going to America. While
returning he would make everything into solid gold and
bring it. He has done this gold smuggling for many
years. So there is nothing wrong in putting him with
highway looters.

480. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is absolutely


atrocious on their part to state such things that are contained
in the aforesaid paragraphs. The Complainant is not aware of
what reasons motivated the Karnataka police to assign him to
the women‟s cell at the Ramnagar jail. The Complainant is of
the belief that such an assignment was made by the police to
prevent the possibility of certain vested interests making
attempts on the life of the Complainant while in judicial
custody. As such, given that the women‟s cell in the
Ramnagar jail was already empty and without any inmate,
the Karnataka police probably chose to assign the
Complainant to the women‟s cell in the said jail.

481. The Complainant further submits that a women‟s cell is


indistinguishable from a men‟s cell so far as jails are
concerned. It is absolutely defamatory on their part to say
that the Complainant would also convert a woman‟s cell into
a sex club. The accused have therefore committed a grave
defamation of the character and reputation of the
Complainant. So far as their statement that the Complainant
has also committed certain other offences is concerned, one
can only state that their conviction is a product of deliberate
criminal design to abuse their journalistic license to the
detriment of the Complainant. The Complainant has
committed no violation of any foreign exchange law and his
ashrams have complied with all applicable foreign exchange
laws. There has been no accusation, let alone prosecution of
any kind either against the Complainant or any of his
183

ashrams for any violation of the foreign exchange laws in


force in India.

482. Further, all applicable gold control laws have been thoroughly
honored by the Complainant at all relevant times and none of
his ashrams have ever been accused, let alone prosecuted, for
any offence under the gold control laws in force in India.

483. As such, there is no further possibility of the Complainant


having smuggled gold in and out of India while he has
complied with all gold control laws in force.

484. The accused have therefore committed an atrocious


defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

485. The accused have further stated:

Saamiyar says, “I did spiritual research with Ranjitha”.


This being the case then Sex Doctor Prakash who gave
anesthesia to the women who came to him for treatment
and made blue films out of it can also claim that he was
doing spiritual research? After Nithyananda gets
punished he can be put with Sex Doctor Prakash in the
same cell and maybe we will get an answer to this
question. If we imprison Premananda also along with
him then there is scope for further research findings.

486. The Complainant respectfully submits that their hostile


imagination is clearly evident in their aforesaid paragraph. By
publishing sheer imagination drawn from their own mind, the
accused have irreversibly defamed the character and
reputation of the Complainant.

487. The accused have further stated:

Nithyananda is not taking the food served in jail.


Instead he is asking bring me badam, bring me pista
and is having that. We have heard all these years that
184

they serve Kali in the jail. Is this false? Does it mean


that they no longer serve kali?

I have my doubts if Nithyananda is reading what I write


in Kumudam Reporter and using it to protect him. I
wrote that he is not a man. Immediately to escape from
the rape charges against him he declares that, „I am not
a man.‟ Then he could have mentioned in the passport
that he is a „hijra‟. Why has he mentioned that he is a
„male‟? Next I had mentioned that Nithya needs to be
put in a separate prison.

Likewise, he has applied for and asked,

„Put me in a separate jail‟.

Even though I have written in such a severe manner


about him, he has taken that which is useful for him to
protect himself and he has changed me into his free
legal advisor. Look at this Saamiyar‟s talent.

488. The Complainant respectfully submits that he was not at any


point of time a privileged inmate at the jails in which he was
lodged. The Complainant always prefers satvic food only and
had therefore requested the authorities to permit him to
consume satvic food prepared at his ashram. The
Complainant further submits that the jail authorities had no
facility to provide food stuff such as badam or pista.
Moreover, he would not have asked jail authorities to provide
him with anything other than what they would typically serve
for other inmates.

489. The accused might have written whatever they wanted but
the Complainant would not take benefit from anything that
the accused have chosen to write about him. Accordingly, by
imagining perverse conduct and character on the part of the
Complainant, the accused have committed an atrocious
defamation of his reputation and character.
185

490. The accused have further stated:

I did not only write that Nithyananda is not a man.


Since he is not a man there is no problem for anybody.
But he changed into a sex psycho and indulged several
women in sex perversions. With the mad rage that
nobody should get what he could not get he broke many
marriages. He made all those women divorce their
husbands and took them and kept them with him. In
this same way he made Gopika who came to him,
divorce her husband and kept her as his personal
secretary. Saamiyar used to spend half of the year in
America. At that time Gopika has also gone with him to
America. Saamiyar did not keep all the women whom he
gave sannyas at close quarters like how he had kept
Gopika. Gopika‟s beauty and capability is the reason for
this. Gopika is one who got a Ph. D in the US.

491. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has already


refuted and denied a similar version that the accused have
published earlier. The Complainant was not aware of the
marital status of Ma Nithya Gopika when she chose to
volunteer her services for the benefit of the ashram. The
Complainant further submits that he had later ascertained
that she was never divorced and that she led a cordial marital
life at all relevant times. The Complainant further submits
that it was simply immaterial whether Ma Nithya Gopika held
a Ph.D. qualification in the United States. Nevertheless the
Complainant has ascertained that Ma Nithya Gopika never
possessed any Ph.D qualification, whether in the US or
elsewhere.

492. As such, the accused have most clearly defamed the


character and reputation of the Complainant by making such
improper imputations.

493. The accused have further stated:


186

Now on questioning some people close to Saamiyars


another shocking news we got. They say that this
palaana CD that was the reason for Saamiyar‟s arrest
was made because of fight among the keeps. They say
that Gopika is the reason for this CD to be made as she
saw day by day actress Ranjitha becoming close to
saamiyar. That faction of people argues that Gopika was
not able to bear Ranjitha who was older to her but was
less worthy than her getting close to saamiyar. How far
this is true we will know only if we find out from
Gopika.

This has not stopped with separating couples and


making the women as swaminis and keeping them with
him. Nithyananda‟s sex perversions are unimaginable.
When the police have searched the ashram they have
obtained 36 video pictures. In that in the least 5 women
have been featured. (Without so much delay if the police
had searched the ashram before more important records
could have been obtained).

494. The Complainant respectfully submits that the police could


never have informed the accused of what materials were
confiscated or seized from the ashrams of the Complainant to
an extent that did not match with their seizure report. There
were no videos or other incriminating material that were
seized from the premises of the Complainant at any point in
time by the police. The police never discovered anything to
even remotely indicate the possibility of sex between the
Complainant and any other person. As such, everything that
the accused have stated in the aforesaid paragraph is a
product of their own criminal intent to irreversibly defame the
character and reputation of the Complainant.

495. The accused have further stated:


187

It is here that we have to remind ourselves of Caligula.


Caligula‟s sex matters were such that it could not be
put in print. I will mention a few with lot of hesitation. It
was one of his orders that many couples must be
around him and must be involved in different sex leelas.
He will talk to his ministers in such a setting and he will
do his strategy planning then. The court will function
only in the midst of all this different sex play.

One day Caligula goes to the marriage of one of young


nobles. During the marriage feast he asks the
bridegroom directly in front of everyone, „Are you a
virgin?‟ She says, „Yes‟. Caligula takes her and that
groom to a separate room. He says, „I have to check and
see if you are a virgin. Remove your clothes.‟ He
removes her clothes and makes her nude on that
wedding day and in front of the groom rapes her. Once
he knew she was a virgin he turns to the groom and
asks him, „How about you? Do you have any experience
in sex before or are you new to it?‟ The groom says,
„Even I do not have any experience in sex before.‟
Caligula says, „Then it will not be right for an unchaste
woman to wed a chaste man.‟ Caligula makes the groom
nude and has homosexual relationship with him. The
others outside hear the wails of the bride and groom. In
this manner there have been hundreds of incidents in
Caligula‟s life.

Such people are only called as sex psychos. Such kinds


of acts are being done by Nithyananda. After being
caught he is saying it is all spiritual research and
Tantric sex and he is lying. When we were talking about
the movie, „Naan Kadavul (I am God)‟ he said, „I am also
an aghori.‟ „But the practice of eating dead bodies is not
there now. 100 years before itself that practice was
gone.‟ He said. Then itself I realized he did not know
188

anything about Aghoris. This is because I have seen


Aghoris. I have moved with them. They are not like this
fake Saamiyars. They will not touch money with their
hands. Their only food is the dead bodies that float in
the Ganges River and the water from the Ganges.
According to the aghoris the dead bodies are just
bodies. We kill live animals for our food. (When they
slaughter the goat, the wailing of the goat if people with
a compassionate heart hear it they will not be able to
eat non-vegetarian food for the next one week.) Aghoris
do not kill any living thing for their food. Because it is a
dead body it gives us little fear that‟s all. Otherwise they
are not worse than us.

Among Sadhus the strongest faction is Aghoris. To


become an aghori one needs to do severe penance in the
cemetery for 12 years. Those who live with the dead are
Aghoris. Their kingdom is the graveyard. As
descendents of Shiva they will not wear anything else
other than a loin cloth. I have seen them in -5 degrees
of cold weather also. They will not wear anything else.
Even if we wear 5 sweaters our bodies will shiver in that
cold. But they will go around with bare bodies in a very
normal way.

One of the aghoris whom I met went to red light area


once. What happened there?

496. The comparison of the Complainant with Caligula or some


Aghori is outrageous and is utterly defamatory to the
reputation and character of the Complainant. The accused
have therefore committed such defamation of the reputation
and character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure T Annexure T1
189

Date of Volume:10 Issue: 10


Publication:
16-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

497. The accused have stated:

But Nithyananda calling everyone ma, ma, has tried to


pull them to his bed. The reason why in the midst of
narrating about a fake swami I am writing about real
sadhus and sufis like Kabir is to show that just because
one man has done a crime we should not lose
confidence on the hoary spiritual lineage of India.
Compare the aghori who eats a dead and decayed dog
with the duplicate aghori who is demanding 'badam and
pista' to the police. Only when you know the original
you can understand the fake.

498. The Complainant respectfully submits that their imagination,


as characterized earlier, is plainly perverse and their
characterisation of the Complainant in the aforesaid manner
as a fake Swami is gravely defamatory to the reputation and
character of the Complainant.

499. The accused have further stated:

You cannot see anything but love with the aghoris. But
with Nithyananda who says he is an aghori there is no
love; only desire. That extreme desire. That too extreme
desire is of three varieties namely, desire for land
wealth, desire for women, desire for gold and other
wealth. Along with that nowadays you have to add
desire for fame. I who is just a man with ordinary
desires have given up three of the four desires. But for
Nithyananda who is wearing a saffron robe all these
four desires are to an extreme level. All over the cities
190

the landed properties he has bought, Gold and diamond


ornaments that can be taken in one lorry after another
(now under whose control are these?) Hundreds of
young women who were ready to carry out the work
which was ordered with the leg, to be carried out with
the head; to have his photograph with all the 32 teeth
visible in all the directions wherever we turn; how does
Nithyananda who was the sum total of all these four
types of desires say he is an aghori and a tantric?"

500. The Complainant respectfully submits that there is no such


agreement to the effect that devotees should have sex with the
Complainant or that they should watch pornographic film
with him. The Complainant truly disapproves of any form of
contract that would bind a person to engage in sex with
another in the name of religion. Further, an agreement that
seeks to hide such conduct from the public is equally
unacceptable to the Complainant.

501. The Complainant further submits that he does not transport


his wealth in lorries and all such reports are wholly
unfounded and baseless. It is gravely defamatory on their
part to say that the Complainant transported volumes of
wealth clandestinely from one place to another by ferrying
such wealth in lorries. None of these allegations have any
truth in them. As such, their aforesaid statements are wholly
defamatory to the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

502. The accused have further stated:

When I was talking about the comments I had written


about Bala's 'Naan Kadavul', Nithyananda said 'I am
also an aghori'. Because he thought I may
misunderstand him, he let out a sack of lies saying
'Nowadays aghoris don‟t eat dead bodies'. Immediately I
said, 'I myself have seen aghoris eating dead bodies'. He
191

said 'they are all fakes', and changed the track of the
conversation.

Nithyananda, tell now, who is fake?

Now when he is caught with the police, saamiyar is


often using the word Tantric. If we understand what real
Tantrism is, we will understand Nithyananda's fall more
clearly. As ordinary human beings with our weaknesses
we can play with any god. If you pray to Vinayaka for
breaking a coconut and do not break it, he is not going
to get angry with you for it. But we should not play with
Shiva or Amman, we should not cheat them. Even the
white people have been terrified of Amman. Shiva and
Kali are Rudra Gods. If you cheat them you will get the
deserved punishment. In that, Nithyananda has
committed a big cheating. Forgery with Shiva himself!
He has done things which he should not do, saying "I
am Shiva, I am Amman". That is the reason he is
undergoing such a big punishment.

Aghoris and Tantriks are flesh eaters. In fact Aghoris


are the only group among Sadhus who eat flesh. They
also drink wine. (Where is wine for people who eat
decayed dead bodies, feces and urine?) Moreover
aghoris have to observe severe brahmacharya. In that
there is one exception, they have to indulge in sex then,
says Tantra. But that is not what Nithyananda says as
sex with a contract. If I tell what that exception is, you
will faint. Wait with a firm heart I will tell you.

503. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never had


any discussion with the accused on the subject of Aghoris.
The accused have therefore conjured up an imaginary
conversation with the Complainant. Further by repeatedly,
but falsely, asserting that the Complainant has cheated one
192

and all, the accused have committed a thorough defamation


of the reputation and character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure U Annexure U1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 11
Publication:
20-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

504. The accused have stated:

Swami's men who begged to have this article stopped


are trying to overpower now. They have now started to
scold and threaten me in a vulgar manner through a
specific telephone on the days kumudam reporter
magazine is released. When I say that I will report to the
Commissioner they say 'do it if you have the courage'.
Even when swami is counting the bars in the jail if they
are like this, just imagine what all will happen if he is
let out.

Always I have been a person who never feared death. I


am a person who believes that our life span is pre-
destined. So only I ignore the threats of such slaves.
Still the reason for my mentioning it here is to point out
to the world the foolishness of that saamiyar who thinks
he can bring to a grinding halt the work of a writer.
Moreover I think those slaves are thinking I am referring
to the Chennai Police Commissioner. When I said
'Commissioner', I did not refer to that commissioner but
am referring to that divine energy that has brought forth
the whole world, the Cosmic Energy. It is not just for
fun they say 'What is done in the forenoon will bring the
193

result in the afternoon'. Because it is the kali age now,


whatever is done in the forenoon brings the result in the
forenoon itself.

Those dear ones who wish to abuse need not waste their
energy on the phone. My e-mail id is:
charu.nivedita.india@gmail.com<mailto:charu.nivedita.i
ndia@gmail.com>

505. The Complainant respectfully submits that the aforesaid


paragraph is another concoction of the accused. There is no
truth of any kind in what the accused have stated in the
aforesaid paragraphs. Accordingly, by fabricating versions
concerning the will or intention concerning the Complainant,
the accused have committed a grave defamation of the
character and reputation of the Complainant.

506. The accused have further stated:

One day in Nithya's NSP class he announced, "Think of


all the mistakes you have done one by one". All our eyes
were tied. Music, inducing tears was playing. Within a
few minutes everyone started crying. Within minutes
everyone started crying. As time passed by the crying
reached a crescendo, myself and my friend were trying
to control our bursting laughter. At that moment a
person next to us started loudly wailing 'ayyo, ayyo, '
and started beating himself. My friend immediately said
“the way he is crying it appears that he might have
molested ten to fifteen children. He is crying so much”!
Just think, how it would be if 3000 people cry in a
hysterical manner like this. How is this fake swami able
to make all these people cry like this?

507. The Complainant respectfully submits that catharsis during a


meditation is an event that calls for a certain degree of
sensitivity in a person to either participate in it or to
appreciate it from outside.
194

508. As such, by the aforesaid comment, the accused have clearly


defamed the character and reputation of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure V Annexure V1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 12
Publication:
23-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

509. .The accused have further stated:

We can call ganja as a psychedelic drug. The drug called


LSD belongs to this family. Consuming it will cause
many extraordinary experiences. Many contemporary
corporate swamis are giving spiritual experiences to the
devotees by mixing the marijuana leaves to the food
they consume. Nithyananda did this successfully. Those
who participate in his meditation camps should
consume food prepared in the ashram only. They should
not consume food prepared outside. I doubt that the
many experiences of thousands of devotees is the result
of this psychedelic items being mixed to the food.

It is this psychedelic matter that is the reason for


Ramya hearing Saamiyar‟s voice. Nithyananda‟s
meditation programs would last for 20 hrs per day. You
can‟t go back to sleep in your room for the remaining 4
hrs also. You will be made to sit in darkness meditation
with your eyes tied. A doubt may crop up in your mind:
would it not be tiring and troublesome if one is put
through such a rigorous routine round the clock?

It is here that you should understand the greatness of


meditation here. 20 minutes of meditation is equivalent
195

to 2 hours of deep sleep. It is sufficient to sleep four


hours per day if you meditate twice a day. The darkness
meditation of Nithyananda is the technique of resting
the body by imagining that darkness is spreading across
it.

So, it is not strange that you would hear Saamiyar‟s


voice in your ears if you are hearing his voice for 20
hours and consume food adulterated with psychedelic
items like ganja. It is this psychedelic matter that is the
investment for the spiritual business of many swamis
apart from Nithyananda.

510. The Complainant respectfully submits that it is outrageous


for the accused to state that intoxicants or other drugs are
administered by the Complainant to visitors and devotees in
his ashram. The Complainant insists on a strict code for all
food consumed inside the ashram. No intoxicant, drug or any
other chemical agent is administered to any food prepared or
served at the ashrams established and administered by the
Complainant.

511. Further, the Complainant submits that the experiences felt or


narrated by the participants at the various spiritual programs
are simply the result of their own state of awareness and is
never induced by chemical or other artificial method.
Meditation in a room full of darkness is a special variety of
meditation that holds its own significance in the spiritual
realm. The accused have improperly commented on these
aspects. All of their insinuations contained in the aforesaid
paragraphs are criminally and irreversibly defamatory to the
reputation and character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure W Annexure W1
Date of Volume:10 Issue:13
196

Publication:
27-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

512. The accused have stated:

Nithyananda had psychedelic items added in the food


that is served to people who show such devotion so that
they get supernatural experiences. If among charities
serving food is the greatest charity then among sins the
biggest sin would be adulterating the food that is served
to one. This also is one of the biggest sins committed by
Nithy for his selfish motive and to make everyone
believe that he is God.

513. The Complainant respectfully submits that as already stated


earlier, all food prepared and served at the ashrams
established and administered by the Complainant are satvic
in character. Accordingly, by deliberately and knowingly lying
about the nature of food that is administered at the ashrams
and administered by the Complainant, the accused have
committed a severe defamation of the reputation and
character of the Complainant.

514. The accused have stated:

There many yogis are seated. Having made the small


boy Rajashekaran remove his school uniform, making
him naked then that yogi offers him saffron robe that
day itself and initiates him into sannyas. (Nithy said
that when sannyas initiation is being given i.e. when
first saffron robe is being worn there should be no other
clothes on the body).

The boy's grandmother wondering why he did not return


from school comes to the temple where he was playing.
197

He is wearing a kavi cloth instead of school uniform.


When asked „Where is your uniform?‟ he tells her what
happened. Thinking that he is telling lies after losing his
uniform the grandmother beats him. When she sees
that he is repeating the same information even after
being beaten by her she asks him to show where the
cave is. When they go they don‟t find any cave or a big
rock is blocking the cave. Immediately the grandmother
falls at Rajashekaran‟s feet.

"Son, whom, we have been yearning to have a darshan


of for a life time, you have directly received the initiation
from," said the grandmother with tears in her eyes. Only
then this young boy understands the matter. When
earlier he was playing during all those days, there was
no rock. Now that place is covered with a rock such that
no one can enter.

Enlightened people say, 'a deathless great life'. It means


those enlightened Beings who have attained
Enlightenment even while in the body, not wishing to
remain in the body for a long time enters into a state of
jiva Samadhi (the state of living in death). Remaining in
that state for hundreds of years they fulfill the genuine
wants of people who pray to them.

In Thiruvannamalai temple there is one such jiva


Samadhi. Nithy said the name of the yogi is Arunachal
Yogishwarar. That Yogi only has given sannyas
initiation to him! That is Nithy has had the fortune of
being initiated by Lord Shiva himself who has come as
that Yogi.

My humble question is will that Yogi give initiation only


to a person who has played about rolling with actresses
and has been involved in all criminal works including
foreign exchange racket?
198

Ok, initiation was given. After many years Rajashekaran


has undertaken the parivrajaka as a mendicant.
(parivrajaka - means begging and travelling throughout
the country on foot). Now I doubt that this is also one of
Nithy's lies. Leave it. Then when Rajashekaran was
walking in the Himalayas he heard a voice saying
'Paramahamsa Nithyananda'. Since it was not his name
Rajashekaran was walking along. But he had a thought
as to where that voice was heard in that place where
there were no human beings.

Once again the voice saying 'Pramahamsa Nithyananda'


was heard. Moreover that voice was coming towards him
and so Rajashekaran waited and watched carefully.
Then a Yogi around 25yrs old appeared before him and
said "From today your name is not Rajashekaran, it is
Paramahamsa Nithyananda" and disappeared. He is
none other than Mahavatar Babaji whom I had
mentioned in this serial as the Baba who gave initiation
to Adi Shankara and Kabir.

515. The Complainant respectfully submits that several details


contained in the above narration are factually incorrect and
wrong. To the extent the accused have characterized the
Complainant as a cheat and a criminal; the accused have
committed grave defamation of the reputation and character
of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure X Annexure X1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 14
Publication:
30-May-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
199

Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

516. The accused have stated:

Few questions before we proceed further. There is a PRO


(Public Relations Officer) by name Sevananda in the
Bidadi ashram. A few years before he moved into the
ashram, he suffered from abdomen cancer and was
declared by the doctors that he cannot survive. He was
a bank officer then. He had only a few days left. But
Saamiyar cured him. Sevananda as per the prediction of
doctors survived! The doctors would die living that
woman. He is still alive. Ashramites used to cheat
people with this wonder story. The specialty of this story
is how the Saamiyar cured Sevananda.

Nithyananda would always stay in America. He would


stay in India only for few months. Till the Ranjitha
matter came to light this was the routine. Accordingly
Saamiyar was in America during that time. Being
physically in America, he guides Sevananda who was
staying in the Bidadi ashram to lie down on the bed.
Nithyananda enters Sevananda‟s body in spirit form and
restricts the cancerous tumor from growing any further.

Let me write exactly what Sevananda narrated to me: “I


felt as if electricity is passing through my body. For about
half an hour I felt as if some other spirit had entered my
body. It is a medical miracle that I am still alive”.

Now my question to Sevananda, Gnanananda,


Sadananda, Nithyananda and many other Anandas is: if
Nithyananda is capable of entering into the others‟
body, why should he fear the police and hide in a
Himachal Pradesh village which nobody knows? Why
should he struggle for bail to come out of the jail? If he
knows to conduct „operation cancer‟ in spirit form, on a
person who is in death bed by entering his body, why
200

should he run to hospital for chest pain and other pains


once he is caught by police?

Why should he, who gives healing so many people,


consume tablets while rolling over the bed with
Ranjitha? Healing is effective only on others?

Will it not work if he heals himself?

2. Did all the clever people who listening to his words


have changed their name through gazette revert their
original names again through gazette?

(We have many such questions. We will continue to ask)

517. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has


ascertained from Sri Nithya Sevananda that he was
spontaneously cured from a certain form of abdomen cancer
during the period Sri Nithya Sevananda held intense contact
with the Complainant. Further, Complainant has always
maintained that the video in circulation is morphed and
fabricated.

518. As such, by needlessly casting aspersion on the character of


the Complainant, the accused have most definitively defamed
his reputation and character.

519. The accused have further stated:

I have a friend in Bengaluru. He is Nithyananda‟s ex


disciple who had moved away from him like me. He was
curious and went to see what is happening in the
ashram and how are Jnanananda, Sadananda and
others. The details he told after coming worried me a lot.
He narrates, “Many have handed over their family
properties and jewels to Nithyananda.

Few of them have asked Jnanananda & Sadananda to


return the jewels, but they are threatening them in front
of me.” However they are returning the jewels to a few of
them. A lady who used to cook for the Saamiyar had
201

handed over 200 pavun of jewels to Saamiyar. They


have returned the jewels now. But they have not
returned it to everyone. They are threatening many
people saying “Go and report to that magazine itself.”
Many women come running back empty handed fearing
for their life after pleading for their jewels.

I was enquiring as to how are Gnana and Sada, the two


pillars of the ashram doing? “Gnanananda had coloured
and straightened his hair. He is like a college student.
Wearing jeans is the only thing left out,” replied the
friend. These colouring and straightening are hairstyles
that our cine actors do. (do you remember Rajini in
Sivaji?) These will cost in thousands.

The Saamiyars of kaliyug are of this kind. Murali is one


of my many auto driver friends who drive for me. Little
bit of knowledge on literature is his specialty. So he
would be talking something while driving the auto for
me. When he was talking about this serial he said that
Saamiyar will not be given any big punishment here.
When I enquired why he said, “They won‟t give big
punishment to Saamiyars here”. He went on to say,
“Nithyananda did not commit any big crime like murder.
That is why I say so”.

See how far the Kaliyug is ripened. Think how far the
fakes have penetrated in to Indian spirituality if it is
considered a great relief that a saamiyar is not involved
in murders.

520. The Complainant respectfully submits that some of his


disciples insist that their valuables and belongings should be
stored at the ashram locker in the event that they do not
consider it safe to leave it at their prior place of residence or
dwelling. The Complainant has not come across any incident
where any person who left his valuables at the ashram locker
202

has had any occasion to complain about such safekeeping or


loss of any article while in safekeeping.

521. As such, the Complainant submits that by falsely implicating


the Complainant in events that never occurred, the accused
have most definitively defamed the character and reputation
of the Complainant.

522. The accused have further stated:

What is the connection between Baba and Yogananda?


Yukteshwar Maharaj is Yogananda‟s Master (1855 -
1936). His master is Lahiri Mahasaya (1828 - 1895).
Lahiri Mahasaya was initiated by Mahavatar Baba. All
information that is shown in Rajini‟s Baba movie about
this Baba is true. Mahavtar Baba is living in the
Himalayas for more than 5000 years in perpetual youth;
Paramahamsa Yogananda had met him in person. He
made a mention of this also in his autobiography.
Paramahamsa Nithyananda started his spiritual
business, taking Paramahamsa Yogananda as a model.
Nithyananda had stolen everything including the name
from Yogananda. As a part of this stealing act, he lied
that Maha Avatar Baba named him as Paramahamsa
Nithyananda.

523. The Complainant respectfully submits that no part of his


spiritual tradition or practice is a mere imitation of another
master‟s tradition and practice. By needlessly insinuating
that the Complainant lacks original thinking, the accused
have most clearly committed defamation of the reputation
and character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure Y Annexure Y1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 15
203

Publication:
03-June-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

524. The accused have stated:

Nevertheless, of all the crimes that Nithyananda had


committed, the most unpardonable one was that he
used the name of Maha Avatar Baba. We shall see how
that is. Guru Yukteshwar Giri was the guru of
Paramahamsa Yogananda, who wrote the book
“Autobiography of a Yogi”. Yogananda‟s guru was Lahiri
Mahasaya. This Seer‟s guru was Maha Avatar Babaji.
Mahasaya was born in the year 1828 in the village
Gurni, in Nadia district, near Krishna Nagar in Bengal.
The Babaji initiated him in the year 1861, when he (the
latter) was 33 years.

525. The Complainant respectfully submits that the sacred events


surrounding his initiation are matters purely pertaining to the
spiritual realm and no part of any of his narration in that
regard was ever intended or calculated to derive any benefit or
advantage of any kind or form.

526. As such, their accusation that some part of his narration was
not true is therefore calculated to harm and has indeed hurt
the reputation and character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure Z Annexure Z1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 16
Publication:
06-June-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
204

Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

527. The accused have stated:

I have mentioned before that Nithy has copied the name


and other spiritual things from Paramahamsa
Yogananda, who has come in the lineage of Maha Avatar
Babaji. I mentioned that he used to sign in Sanskrit as
OM to his devotees and used to tell that he does not
have any name. Like that I have a doubt if his birthday
really is on Jan 1. Has Nithy created his own birth date
as Jan 1st just to create excitement inside his devotees?

528. The Complainant respectfully submits that as stated earlier,


the Complainant does not believe in imitation and does not
engage in any form of imitation. The 1st of January is
celebrated as the birthday of the Complainant.

529. The Complainant further submits that it is plainly improper


to say that any person would fabricate his date of birth for the
sole purpose of exciting his audience. As such, by imputing
improper motives to the Complainant, the accused have
clearly committed a defamation of the reputation and
character of the Complainant.

530. The accused have stated:

Now let me come to Nithy‟s matter. Middle class people


cannot go to the pub right? So in the name of
spirituality, Nithy invites them, and gives them a new
kind of pub experience. This „pub‟ is without non-veg
and liquor.

In Chennai there is no permission to dance or drink


after 11 pm. However influential you are, they will
refuse. This is the law enforced by police. But, for
spiritual people, police, law or rules are not able to say
anything. Even if you are the president of a democratic
205

country, one has to follow the rule and this is law. But,
for spiritual person, none of these laws are valid. How
that is possible? If judges, police officials and chief
ministers are falling at the feet of these spiritual
persons, who can go and enforce the law there? Who
will get that guts? You may ask now, Nithy is counting
the bars in prison? This happened after he got caught
properly. Till they are caught that way, no law can do
anything to them.

Do you remember, last year, worldwide, people got


affected by chicken gunia fever and went about here
and there covering their face with a cloth? Also there
was a law stating that people should not meet in groups
of 4 or 5 in public places. At such a time in Nithy‟s
meditation program in Chennai 5000 people gathered. I
asked actress Raga Sudha about this with shock. She
replied, „Can chicken gunia come where GOD is?‟ If that
was the case Raga Sudha, why did GOD when he was
with Ranjitha in the bed take medicine? What was that
medicine? If „GOD‟ can stop chicken gunia, why was he
hiding in Himachal Pradesh fearing the police?

Right, if there was a law that even 5 people cannot get


together in one place, how come police allowed 5000
people to gather? This allowance is not only for
Nithyananda but the government relaxes the law for
spiritual activities of any religion.

531. The Complainant respectfully submits that as already stated


in the previous paragraphs, much of the aforesaid paragraph
is a direct result of their enormous hostility. The Complainant
has never received any form of favour from any government at
point of time in his life. Similarly, the Complainant has never
evaded any process of law. The gathering organized in
Chennai wherein a few thousand people assembled was not
206

prohibited by any known law then in force in the city of


Chennai. There were no prohibitory orders at the relevant
point of time and it is improper to imagine that a mere
prevalence of chicken gunia in any city or town would have
been sufficient for the police therein to issue a prohibitory
order discouraging an assembly of more than 5 individuals at
any given place in that town or city. As such, their baseless
imputations concerning the motive of the Complainant is a
clear defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

532. The accused have further stated:

A pub will close at 11 pm. But Nithya‟s pub will happen


even morning at 4 am. In that also, beyond 10pm, there
will be only profusion of dance and music. We say
kuthupaadal – Those songs‟ words, they will change to
become spiritual words and dance to them. There was a
big music crew for Nithy just for this. They had all the
sophisticated and expensive instruments similar to level
of what A.R Rahman has. These songs are mostly sung
by popular cinema singers. Raga Sudha‟s job is to
modify the words which has sexual or double meaning
with spiritual words. I will give you one example. You
must have heard the song, “Daddy Mummy are not in
the house, there is no one to put a stop.”

533. The Complainant respectfully submits that the aforesaid


paragraph is nothing but sheer imagination of the accused.
The Complainant wishes to further state that at no point of
time were film songs with such sinister meaning were ever
played publicly inside the ashrams established and
administered by him.

534. As such, by engaging in a severe form of false accusation, the


accused have most clearly defamed the reputation and
character of the Complainant.
207

535. The accused have further stated:

Nithy would dance such a dance! But we should not


blame… there will be two separate groups - gents and
ladies. Gents dance in their group separately and ladies
dances in their group in separation. Nithy is very careful
about all that. But in the center, Nithy will dance alone
with women. When I saw, he was dancing kuthaaattu
with Ranjitha.

This dance will start after 10 pm and continue until


4a.m. in the morning. After one dance there will be a
meditation session and then dance and again
meditation, it will continue in this pattern.

When one day all the devotees were dancing, me and my


friend Kannan alone were not dancing and standing
aside and watching the dancing. One of the important
disciples of Nithy came to me and asked, “Are you not
dancing?” I replied, „We have danced all sorts of dances
and after that only we came here and you are asking me
to dance here also, how can we dance here?‟ (Actually
what I meant to him is about my dancing in pubs for all
these years. He could not understand that).

Even though Nithy‟s spiritual pub has separate groups


for women and men, only in my group there were some
women in a very covetous dress. I will tell about those
women‟s dirty dance in next episode.

536. The Complainant respectfully submits that no form of dance


that is objectionable or involves indecent movement is ever
allowed in any of the ashrams established and administered
by the Complainant.

537. It is further a blatant lie on their part to state that the


Complainant engaged in a certain form of dance with actress
Ranjitha. No such dance event ever occurred and the accused
certainly never saw anything of such kind.
208

538. The Complainant further submits that all persons who enter
and remain at the ashrams established by the Complainant
are required to strictly adhere to a dress code and no person
violating such a dress code is allowed to remain in the
premises.

539. As such, their allegation that certain women were not


adequately dressed is wholly without any basis in fact or in
reality. As such, by repeatedly lying about the conduct of the
Complainant so as to cast him in a derogatory mode, the
accused have committed a severe defamation of the
reputation and character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AB Annexure AB1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 17
Publication:
10-June-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No. 10

540. The accused have stated:

Me and my friend Kannan were sitting in the VIP group.


There only cinema actors and other prominent people
would be sitting. Are you asking me how am I sitting in
that group? I am friend of actress Raga Sudha. There
only foreigners and other state peoples were sitting.
There alone they were sitting with no distinction of man
and woman in a mixed way. After 10 pm when the song
“Daddy mummy” kutthaattam started to play, women
from foreign and other states started to dance with very
less dress and I could not feel any feeling spiritual in
me, how can I feel? Those young women danced with
such a fertile body wearing scarf like white transparent
209

banian stuck to their body because of the sweat… that‟s


why I mentioned it‟s a bad dance.

If NSP program nights are like this, in the day there will
be koothu – erratic happenings. Here, important
information has to be told. I have participated in many
spiritual people‟s meditation programs. All of them have
the same kind of technique. There won‟t even be a small
change in it.

What can be inferred from this is, when Nithy was


Rajashekaran, he has attended the meditation programs
of many spiritualists and has taken their techniques
and used for his programs.

541. The Complainant respectfully submits that what has been


stated in the aforesaid paragraphs is a product of their fertile
imagination. No such dance or indecent exposure is permitted
in any of the ashrams established and administered by the
Complainant.

542. Again, the Complainant submits that he does not imitate any
other spiritual master and none of his programs are modeled
after the programs of another religious master.

543. The accused have further stated:

Reason for Nithyananda like corporate saamiyars


becoming popular in India is, he stimulates the account
of sinful activities of the two main groups of people such
as middle class people and higher class people and
renewing their sins account and instigating them to do
it again with renewed vigour.

544. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused do


not possess any basis to criticize the therapeutic value of
confessions and the further emotional cleansing practices
employed by spiritual masters. The Complainant does not
approve the repetition by any person of a transgression once
210

committed and the fact that people are asked to write down
about their past transgressions and to burn those papers is a
certain therapeutic method that is regularly employed at
many of the Complainant‟s programs for the purpose of
psychological benefits of the participants therein.

545. As such, their criticism of the Complainant‟s practice in the


manner that the accused have done is gravely defamatory to
the character and reputation of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AC Annexure AC1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 18
Publication:
13-June-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

546. The accused have stated that:

In a yogic life the biggest problem is entering it and then


leaving it for another path half way. This brings great
downfall for the individual. This is what happened in
Nithyan‟s life.

Due to all the early spiritual training in his life each


chakra from the bottom was opening up. He had gone
from the muladhara to swadhisthana to the
manipuraka. Before he could reach the anahata the
seat of compassion, he indulged in cheap things like
lust, vengeful anger, fame, wealth.

There are people who have opened all seven chakras. If


they open their eyes and see us we will swoon. Nithy
knew this. He only knew it, he had not used it. In the
NSP program he let out all these blabbering.
211

That is a blindfolded act. In one of those blindfolded


meditations our eyes were blindfolded. The meditation
would go for 1 ½ hours. Till then no one should open
their eyes. Gnanananda said what will happen if we
opened our eyes in the middle of the meditation. A lady
opened her eyes in the middle of the meditation out of
curiosity. She fainted on seeing the light rays from
swami‟s eyes. Since I did not have such spiritual
experiences thinking that I will faint on seeing swami‟s
light rays I slowly slyly loosened the eye band. What I
saw there…..

547. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


misconceived and misapprehended the true scope of certain
practices that are administered during some programs at the
ashrams established and administered by the Complainant.
The participants at the Complainant‟s programs are
encouraged to doubt and to develop critical thinking. As such,
the prospect of conveying superstitious beliefs is practically
non-existent in programs that are conducted by the
Complainant himself. Further, the Complainant submits that
spiritual practice is never meaningful unless there exists a
certain degree of trust and faith in the person who advocates
relief in return for faithful application of his methods.

548. At any rate, by imputing to the Complainant, sinful intention


and character, the accused have gravely injured his
reputation and are therefore responsible for the defamation of
his reputation and character.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AD Annexure AD1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 19
Publication:
17-June-2010
212

Author: Position of Author in the


Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

549. The accused have stated:

When I opened my eyes and saw, I found that


Nithyananda was not there. Since the meditation would
take another hour and a half to get over, he probably
went off to Ranjitha.

Another reason why thousands of people come and


attend this NSP meditation program is because this
program happens like an entertainment program. In
Tamil Nadu, it is my view that cinema has been largely
responsible for the destruction of our Tamilnadu
culture. The symbol of Tamil cinema community is open
sex, violence, the scenes that bring down the human
consciousness. You could mention Balu Mahendra,
Mahendran, Barathiraja as the people who tried to
oppose this trend and bring Tamil cinema to a good
path. Shashi Kumar, Balaji Shakthivel, Miskin, Simbhu
Devan are responsible for continuing this. But a
majority of the movies are taken in such a way that it
only kindles the gross, lowly instincts in men.

550. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


again lied for the benefit of appealing to the gross imagination
of some of their readers. As such, the accused have
committed a grave defamation of the reputation and character
of the Complainant.

551. The accused have further stated:

A farmer, does he have a gun for his security? But a


Saamiyar is keeping a machine gun and a security
squad for his security. In this, who is the one who
knows how to live? In this age there one can‟t see the
213

difference between a politician and a corporate


Saamiyar. Only one difference…. The former dresses in
white clothes and the later in saffron uniform clothes.

But this Saamiyar who teaches the art of living is a little


better. I do not know how these „so-called‟ Saamiyars for
what they do are not being arrested by the police. Only
one reason…A secret camera has not been installed in
their bedrooms. In the days to come I believe the past
time entertainment that Nithy gave the people these
Saamiyars will also soon give.

552. The Complainant respectfully submits that there never was


any person to guard him with the means of a gun, pistol or
any other weapon. The Complainant further submits that he
has always propagated the idea of peace and does not believe
in defending himself by use of force.

553. As such, by deliberately and knowingly lying about the


security for the Complainant and by further casting an
insinuation thereby, the accused have committed a grave
defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AE Annexure AE1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 20
Publication:
20-June-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

554. The accused have stated:

There are many evidences to show that Nithyananda is


also a sadist. He has put some Brahmacharinis in
214

seclusion for many days. He has made them to be in


silent for many months. I have written before that
Actress Raga Sudha, instead of maintaining silence
required for a Brahmacharini, used to keep on talking.
The P.R.O of Nithy‟s ashram, Mr.Sevananda has once
told me about her non-stop talking with irritation. Seva
also said that once she had been talking to her friends
and even missed her flight. Nithy has given this sadist
punishment to Raga Sudha many times. Raga Sudha
told me this herself. But she will not tell that it was a
punishment, but she would tell that she has been put
in tapas.

Raga Sudha doesn‟t know one thing. Tapas is not


supposed to be a punishment that others force on you.
In which case, then, can we call all the prisoners who
are put in individual cell as Yogis who are in Tapas?
Likewise, if one goes to Himalayas, he may have a
spiritual experience. But just because he is in
Himalayas, he cannot be a Yogi. For example, there are
many tribal people in Himalayas, are they all yogis?

There are many torture techniques like being in


seclusion, silence vow etc in the ashram. To get the
truth from terrorists, police follow many torturous
techniques like not allowing them to sleep for many
days. If they fall asleep, using a tube, they would force
water on their face with high speed (there is no other
torture like forcing water on your face continuously).
Nithy used to give such punishments to those slaves
(How else do you call his Brahmacharis?) who do not
listen to him. For many days, they should not sleep.
There are people just to check whether they are sleeping
or not.

OK, if one disciple has fallen asleep even after all this,
then what to do? Nothing else, in a government office, if
215

one does not listen to his senior official, what action


would be taken, that‟s the thing Nithy also does. He
would transfer them to a deserted land. If you are in
Bidadi ashram, it is luck. Because, from that ashram
only, disciples are sent to countries like America,
Europe and Australia. It is like a highly scoring IAS
student being sent to work in foreign countries. Even in
that, there are many branches. Only those officials that
co-operative will be sent to Europe & America. Unlike
them, if they are creating trouble, they would be sent to
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma.

Likewise, if you are sent from Bidadi to Salem, then it is


a punishment. Likewise, Actress Raga Sudha has been
sent to Salem many times. In short, being sent to Salem
is similar to, how criminals were sent to Andaman
prison during Britisher‟s time.

555. The Complainant respectfully submits that everything that


the accused have stated in the aforesaid paragraphs is
another product of their hostile imagination. No person at the
ashrams established and administered by the Complainant is
subjected to any form of isolation or deportation as a
punishment for any of his transgressions.

556. As such, by knowingly and deliberately stating a lie as to the


conduct of the Complainant, the accused have irreparably
damaged the character and reputation of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AF Annexure AF1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 21
Publication:
24-June-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
216

Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

557. The accused have stated:

Now a few questions I want to ask Nithy who has come


out of jail on bail.

You said you are Krishna‟s avataara. You and millions


of devotees sat in front of your huge photograph and did
puja for hours together. Are you going to restart all that
again?

When you had taken Krishna avataara they were your


gopikas. You said that you were going to disclose who
was who. In your millions of devotees Sadananda, your
first disciple, was one of the gopikas you said. Who were
the other gopikas?

After blabbering or lying that you are Krishna avataara,


now in front of the judge your lawyer argued that you
are not a sannyasi. Are you a sannyasi or grihasta?
Does your Krishna hood happen only with the actress
who was lustful towards you?

558. The Complainant respectfully submits that the imputation


that the accused have cast to the sacred relationship between
Krishna and his gopikas is blasphemous and is hurtful to the
millions of Hindus who treat that relationship with reverence.
The Complainant further wishes to state that the arguments
made by his lawyers before the Hon‟ble High Court of
Karnataka at the time of hearing in the bail application filed
by him are clearly contained in the judgment dated 11 June
2010 passed in Criminal Petition No. 2328 of 2010. Nowhere
would the accused find in the said judgment, any reference to
the alleged statement by the lawyers for the Complainant that
„the Complainant is not a „sannyasi‟.

559. The Complainant has most reliably ascertained that the


lawyers who were arguing for him did not make such a claim
217

in the court of law or that even if they did indicate to such


effect, it was made in a different context and with a different
significance.

560. The accused clearly knew that no part of relief of bail granted
by the Hon‟ble High Court of Karnataka in the said matter
has been given in response to the alleged argument the
accused have spoken about. The Complainant further
submits that he has never had any sexual relationship with
any of his devotees at any point in time. As such, by
maliciously casting a negative character on the Complainant,
the accused have clearly committed a serious defamation of
his reputation and character.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AG Annexure AG1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 22
Publication:
27-Jun-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Charu Nivedita Accused No.10

561. The accused have stated:

What is the current state of mind of your bedroom


friend Ranjitha? If she comes to the ashram it will be
trouble, so have you plans to meet her elsewhere? Since
your passport has been confiscated you cannot meet in
America like before. If you come to Tamil Nadu,
Tamilians are ready to beat you up. So you cannot come
here either. Where else will your meeting be fulfilled?

562. The Complainant respectfully submits that actress Ranjitha is


a respected woman in society and is also a respected member
at the Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam established and
administered by the Complainant. The Complainant has
218

nothing to hide with the world in relation to his


communication with actress Ranjitha. All of the
Complainant‟s communications with actress Ranjitha are
simply indistinguishable from any communication he would
hold with any other member of the public or with his
devotees. The Complainant respectfully submits that there
was no meeting of any kind between him and actress Ranjitha
in the days, weeks and months following the scandal devised
by certain persons. The Complainant was not hesitant to
speak and address his devotees and the general public in the
days following the scandal. The only reason for the
Complainant to stay for a longer period at North India was
grounded in security concerns. The Complainant has never
established any secretive relation with any person or with any
devotee at any point in time. As such, the product of their
hostile imagination as evidenced in the aforesaid paragraph is
plainly defamatory to the Complainant and has indeed
injured his reputation and character immeasurably.

563. The accused have further stated:

I read in a magazine that a Central Minister from Tamil


Nadu has given you 1000 Crore rupees for safe keeping.
I also received other trustworthy messages that support
this. If politicians and Godmen get together to loot
people, where will the people go?

564. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never


received money or property of any person or politician for
purpose of evading the detection of law enforcement. As such,
their false statement that the Complainant did safe keep Rs.
1000 Crores of a politician is the grossest form of defamation
that the accused could inflict on the Complainant. The
Complainant further submits that all properties and assets
retained by all ashrams established and administered by the
Complainant are fully accounted for and the Complainant
219

does not hold any form or kind of wealth that has not been
accounted for.

565. As such, their insinuation is most criminally defamatory and


has irreversibly damaged the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

566. The accused have further stated:

The Crores of disciples who left their good jobs and


families because of you, and now have also left the
ashram and have no place to go. What is your answer to
them?

567. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never


abandoned his disciples at any point of time. The only matter
of concern to the Complainant on the days following the
scandal was the welfare and protection of his devout
disciples.

568. Devotion to a spiritual master is a matter that calls for


intense faith to withstand trick and fraud perpetrated by
hostile interests. Countless devotees of the Complainant who
stood by him despite the scandal chose to do so by primarily
relying on their own assessment of his character and
reputation.

569. By casting the Complainant in a disastrous light as done in


the aforesaid paragraph, the accused have most clearly
defamed the reputation and character of the Complainant.

570. The accused have further stated:

If sex-godmen curse, will that come true? (Since I


severely criticize you in my writings, a friend of mine
who cares deeply for me told me to ask this question)

571. The Complainant respectfully submits that he does not curse


any person, howsoever evil that person might be. However all
the perversion generated by the accused and their publication
220

against the Complainant is only bound be validated should


the Complainant not pursue appropriate legal remedies to
rein in their person and their publication for their collective,
callous, deliberate and criminal acts to defame his reputation
and character.

572. The accused have further stated:

5. “Search within” “search within” is what you kept


saying – during that searching within, didn‟t you feel
your fraudness?

6. After the yaaga, what is the next step in your image


build up?

7. In the future when you go to the police station to


sign, will the white royal umbrella procession come
along?

8. Ranjitha is not there, if you feel pain now, who will


give you a massage?

9. In every speech you were preaching Brahmacharyam


– will you still continue to preach it?

10. Do you really believe in God, or no? If it had been,


how do you have the heart to wear the saffron cloth
and roll around with an actress with your underwear
showing, and to play around. Don‟t you know that
the saffron cloth is a sacred symbol in the Hindu
dharma?

11. You have separated so many women from their


husbands. You have separated young girls from their
parents. There is no room in the law to punish you
for all this.

If this had been in countries like Malaysia, they


would have stripped you naked, made you lie down
on your stomach and they would have whipped you
with a cane on your back and buttocks. If it had been
221

Saudi Arabia, you would have lost a hand or a leg.


There those who were affected by you would mete out
the punishment.

Fine – let it go. You live in a country which offers you


the safety of escaping even if you murder someone,
when you have Crores of money. That is why very
rich Indians are unable to live even for a few days in
Europe or America. There if you commit a crime,
whoever you are, you cannot escape from
punishment. Even if they are very popular people.

But just like you have said yourself many times,


there is something called the next janma – in that all
the sins that you committed in this one will climb
like a big sac on your back. Don‟t you worry about
that?

572. The Complainant respectfully submits that their hostility is,


as already stated before, plainly evident in the aforesaid
paragraph. By casting the Complainant in a false, fraudulent
and criminal light, the accused have committed grave
defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

573. The accused have further stated:

12. The public feel that since you have been involved in
various criminal works, you should not have been let
out on bail. Yet you came out on bail. Were you quiet
after you came out? You lit a fire all around you and
you are sitting and doing the pancha tapas yaagam.
But even there your criminal job has started. You
have hidden 180 litres of the ration kerosene used by
poor people. The punishment for this is 7 years.

The truth is that even for a single day in your life you
haven‟t respected the law. Now in this state where
the media light is falling on your activities, you don‟t
222

know to suddenly respect the law. You got caught


with the kerosene. Just like this, earlier, you
performed many criminal acts like foreign exchange
fraud, sandalwood logs, tiger skin hiding, very
casually. In continuation of this, the current
kerosene hiding has come out. By saying, “The
devotees brought the kerosene by accident” you are
putting the blame on the devotees. If that is so, then
the sandalwood hoarding, and Crores of dollars of
foreign exchange fraud – were they also done by
devotees?

574. The Complainant respectfully submits that the Hon‟ble High


Court of Karnataka had examined all material, accusations
and allegations against the Complainant before coming to a
conclusion that no criminal offence was established against
him, at that point of time. The conclusion of the Hon‟ble High
Court of Karnataka is such as to throw out the repeated claim
of their publication and of their peers that the Complainant
had broken several laws of this country to the point that bail
was bound to be rejected to him.

575. So far as the use of a rationed fuel in the performance of the


yagna is concerned, there has been severe misrepresentation
in the media in this regard and the Complainant respectfully
submits that he is free and clear of all wrong doing and that
the action of a certain devotee in utilizing rationed fuel for the
performance of the yagna was made in ignorance of the
applicable law and without any intention whatsoever to evade
the applicable ration law.

576. Further, concerning their accusation in relation to foreign


exchange fraud, it is respectfully submitted that sandalwood
laws, tiger skin hiding and the rest are products of their
hostile imagination and have no basis in reality. By
deliberately and knowingly making wild but false allegations
223

against the Complainant, the accused have most irreversibly


damaged his reputation and character.

577. The accused have further stated:

13. In the press release regarding the kerosene fraud,


you have mentioned that for year after year your
ashram has provided food for lakhs of devotees and
visitors. Isn‟t this a blatant lie? To touch your feet,
25,000 rupees, to come to devotees‟ house, 1 lakh
rupees – a pickpocket Saamiyar like you who has
performed such daylight robberies, when have you
fed who?

You will provide food, but for who? You offer food to
those people who were cheated in to paying 50,000
rupees for a 9-day meditation class. Is this spiritual
activity? You will do foreign exchange fraud; you will
smuggle sandalwood logs – if anybody asks you
about these criminal activities, is it an abuse against
spiritual activities? Just like this, when the picture of
you rolling with Ranjitha on the bed was shown on
TV, you said it was morphing. After it was proved by
forensic investigators, you blurted that what is on the
CD was half true, half lies. Then after the forensic
investigators said everything on the CD is true, you
lied without your tongue feeling delicate, that
“Ranjitha and I were involved in spiritual research”. If
so, then the Devanathan who was having sex with
many women in the Kancheepuram temple sanctum
sanctorum – was he also involved in spiritual
research?

578. The Complainant respectfully submits that their unremitting


hostility is most glaringly evident in the aforesaid paragraphs.
As already stated earlier, everything that has been alleged
against the Complainant in the aforesaid paragraphs is false,
224

concocted, criminally fabricated, perverse and deliberately


told. The Complainant did not explain any part of the
fabricated video as a research of any kind. Further, the
Complainant finds it inappropriate to comment on the failure
or infraction of other religious practitioners or priests.
Further, the Complainant takes severe objection to media
comparison of the scandal devised in the Complainant‟s name
to scandals involving other religious practitioners. By
repeatedly repeating their unremitting hostility in the
aforesaid paragraphs, the accused have most definitely
committed an irreparable defamation of the reputation and
character of the Complainant.

579. The accused have further stated:

14. Now do you eat Viagra tablets?

580. The Complainant respectfully submits that as already stated


earlier, the Complainant has never consumed Viagra or any
other medication involving sexual stimulant such as
Sildenafil Nitrate. Further, the Complainant wishes to also
state that drugs and sexual stimulants such as Viagra or
Sildenafil citrate have no place in the Complainant‟s life and
mission. By falsely connoting a sinister character to the
Complainant, the accused have most clearly damaged the
reputation and character of the Complainant.

581. The accused have further stated:

15. I am saying that all that you wrote, spoke and all the
meditation techniques you introduced were stolen
from Osho. I can prove this with evidence. But when
many witnesses pointed this out and asked about it,
you acted as if you don‟t even know who Osho is. You
acted. But there is evidence to show that you
participated in Osho‟s meditation classes many
times. One of the monks who stayed with you in your
room has said “Rajashekaran was talking all the
225

time.” Saying, you are God‟s incarnation, because all


these old stories will not support your mesmerizing
people with your oratorical skills, you have hidden
them.

582. The Complainant respectfully submits that he has never


imitated any spiritual master and is of the view that, the
sayings of spiritual masters cannot serve as a reference point
for comparison. The Complainant has never stated that he
did not know who „OSHO‟ or Bhagwan Rajneesh was. The
Complainant further wishes to state that he had never
participated in any of OSHO‟s classes, as dogmatically
claimed by the accused. The Complainant has enormous and
boundless respect and regard for the sayings of OSHO and
sees no striking similarity between his own sayings and that
of OSHO. As such, by casting the Complainant in such
undesirable light, the accused have inexcusably defamed the
reputation and character of the Complainant.

583. The accused have further stated:

16. You also were trained in Ramakrishna Mutt – why


are you hiding all this all the time?

584. The Complainant respectfully submits that he did receive


limited spiritual training at a centre that adopts the spiritual
plans and path of Paramahamsa Ramakrishna. As such, their
blatant and deliberate lie that the Complainant hid such fact
from the public is a grave commission of the defamation of
reputation and character of the Complainant.

585. The accused have further stated:

17. Mr. Rajashekaran – now I will introduce to you a great


man named Mandela. South Africa‟s revolutionary
fighter Mandela was put in prison in 1964.

For the first 18 years he was imprisoned in the Robben


islands. He did hard labor in limestone quarries.
226

Because of his skin color, he was imprisoned. Black


skinned prisoners got very little ration. Mandela was a
D-group prisoner (the lowest in all comforts). He was
allowed one visitor and one letter, once in six months.
Unlike you, he didn‟t ask “give me badam, give me
pista”. His letters were badly censored that were given
to him in an unreadable state.

March 1982, Mandela was transferred to Balsmore


prison. Along with him four other revolutionary leaders
were also transferred. Here the government started
dialogue with Mandela. “If you give up violence you will
get freedom” is the concession they gave him. Since
Mandela strongly refused it, his imprisonment
continued. He was freed in 1990.

In South Africa at that time black people were treated


like slaves, and were treated worse than animals. The
people who opposed were killed without any question by
people of the white race. A white man can kill a black
man with a gun. There is no punishment for that. But if
a black man goes to a place where a white man goes
even by mistake, he will be shot dead. Since he revolted
against this racial hatred Mandela was imprisoned for
27 years. But the white government placed a condition
on him – if you drop the weapon, you can get freedom
this minute. He categorically refused and stayed in
prison for 27 years.

But in the guise of Saamiyar, you Rajashekaran, have


been involved in many criminal activities and while you
were in prison you said cheap lies like “I am not a
Saamiyar – release me”,

“I am not a man, how can I have physical relationship


with a woman?” Somehow you wanted to come out of
prison and for that you could say anything, or descend
227

to any level – and you descended very low. What is


bigger? Your fake spirituality? Or Mandela‟s devotion for
his country and honesty and determination?

586. The Complainant respectfully submits that their recounting of


struggle of the great revolutionary, Nelson Mandela is without
any context. So far as their statement that the Complainant
sought release from judicial custody on the ground that he is
not a sannyasi is concerned, as stated earlier, the Bail Order
issued by the Hon‟ble High Court of Karnataka is wholly
without any reference to whether the Complainant is a
sannyasi or not. As such, their inept comment on the
Complainant in such manner has contributed to severe
defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant.

587. The accused have further stated:

18. Are you planning to further extend the sex contract


that you had with all the Sannyasinis?

19.BOX MESSAGE: At the rate at which you are going


into the fire-circle yaga, will you also include women
disciples?

20. Do you intend to come towards Tamilnadu?

21. The mangalsutra chains, golden bangles, silver


vessels, property documents which you cheated out of
your women devotees, where have you safely hidden
them?

22. Just like we saw your bedroom scenes with Ranjitha,


will we also get to see your romps with your gay
partners?

23. Now who is the actress who services your legs and
other parts of your body?

24. Till now you hugged and blessed all women. Will the
hugging treatment continue?
228

25. You will see all the Tamil films. So I am asking you
this – have you seen the movie “Silent Army”? In that
movie the villain Satyaraj does all criminal activities
exactly like you. In the end he wears saffron cloth and
sits in the middle of a fire and does yaga. How did
Satyaraj know about you way back then?

Rajashekaran aka Nithyananda will not answer all these


questions. Criminals have the habit of ignoring
questions. People‟s forgetfulness is their investment.
There is a way to not be cheated by fake Saamiyar like
this.

In this series I had mentioned a Thayumanavar‟s song


once. Elephants can be tamed. We can tie a tiger‟s
mouth. We can ride on a lion‟s back – do you know what
is the ending of that song? It is rare to see the skill to
tame a lion and make it silent. I mean, we can walk on
water, sleep on fire. We can do anything like this. But to
control the mind and make it quiet is the most difficult
thing, says Thayumanavar.

This is what Rajashekaran the 33 year old youngster


has failed to do.

But Patanjali, our first and original guru has taught us


a way to control our mind. If you close your eyes for 20
minutes and get immersed in meditation you can do it.
This is the first effort to controlling thoughts. Then we
will not need fake Saamiyars like Rajashekaran.

588. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


most severely defamed the reputation and character of the
Complainant by casting the Complainant in an utterly
unwholesome light in the manner the accused have done in
the aforesaid paragraph.

Original news report - Translated news report –


229

Annexure AH Annexure AH1


Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 28
Publication:
18-Jul-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Mathew Raj Accused No. 18

589. The accused have stated:

Don't know what the bond is between Nithyananda and


actresses. The bond is chasing after him without stop.
The released vulgar pictures with Ranjitha created a
huge controversy and chased him into prison.
Nithyananda has come out on conditional bail. The
highlight of the discourse he conducted after a long gap
raised the eyebrows of people as Tamil actress Malavika
participated in it.

Nithyananda was released last June. Certain


restrictions were imposed for that. In those conditions
was one that he cannot leave town without informing
Ramnagar police station, cannot deliver discourse,
cannot preach religion, cannot visit a foreign country.
Because of this, Nithyananda who laid low for the last
few weeks, requested permission from the Karnataka
High court to deliver discourses.

At this stage, last Friday the Karnataka High court


investigated the appeal and gave permission that
Nithyananda can deliver a discourse to devotees once a
month. Subsequent to that, he informed disciples that
he will deliver a public discourse at Bidadi ashram,
Bengaluru, Karnataka state.

590. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


inaccurately reported on the conditions of bail originally
imposed on the Complainant. Further, the Complainant did
230

not lose any time in recognising that the Hon‟ble High Court
of Karnataka did not possess the authority to impose a bar on
preaching by the Complainant due to the constitutional right
of every citizen to freely embrace any religion or belief of his
choice and to propagate such religion and belief. As such, an
application was thereafter preferred to the Hon‟ble High Court
with a prayer to remove the earlier bar imposed on preaching
by the Complainant in view of the constitutional limitations
that were breached by such judicial bar. The Hon‟ble High
Court of Karnataka promptly removed the bar by
acknowledging that the said bar operated as a limitation on
the freedom of speech guaranteed to every citizen under
Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India. As such, the
false information presented by the accused casts the
Complainant in a very negative light and is therefore, a grave
commission of the defamation of the reputation and character
of the Complainant.

591. The accused have further stated:

In that pretext, in his ashram he appeared to his


devotees. He appeared with the old aura and new,
unaltered smile as if to ask - Is he the same person who
was struggling for the past 80 days here and there with
a withered face? As usual a majestic throne was kept.
After sitting on it, the discourse began with his dynamic
voice on the topic „freedom‟.

"In the recent past, they have given me titles in the


magazines. They wrote many names before and after my
name. When Michael Jackson died, his Crores of fans
thronged his website and dug in and browsed. Because
of this, the internet jammed. In the history of the world
Michael Jackson had the largest number of users
entering a website, it created a record. But, just like
that record, when problems arose such as the police
231

searching for me, arrest etc, Crores of people searched


on the internet at the same time. The internet jammed
because of that. After Jackson, the net jammed only for
me.

Like that, when I was put in jail, only my form was in


jail. But my soul went to many other countries and
came back.

My devotees fought with non-violence and the ways of


Gandhi. Their struggle has been successful.
Punishment is not something given by the court or
judge, it is given by God. Let God say whether I am a
good man or a bad man. They released pictures of
someone with me, and slandered me. What happened in
those pictures is not true.

I never bothered about it. 45 lakhs of my devotees in 22


countries know about me" as Nithyananda continued to
speak in his discourse, the hundreds of devotees
listening looked emotional. Of the devotees gathered in
Bidadi, a female devotee was getting special treatment;
on looking closely it was found to be actress Malavika.
She became famous by acting in the TV series "Anni" in
a private tamil channel. Now she is acting in many films
including Madhavan starrer "Je Je" and the series
"Chellame"

The ashram employees took extra care that the media


should not know that actress Malavika had come.

It is an actress closeness that got Nithyananda to run


and hide. It has put many in surprise that an actress
participated in the discourse and all activities in the
first discourse on judicial permission. The complete
answer has not been received on reported links to
Ranjitha. Another actress already?
232

The ashram administration has announced that Guru


Purnima puja will be conducted on the coming 22nd.
Even though this puja is conducted every year,
administration has decided to show its might and
stepped in to the battlefield. Where will this lead?

592. The Complainant respectfully submits that actress Malavika


is a respected devotee who frequently visited the Nithyananda
Dhyanapeetam at Bidadi with her husband, actor Avinash
and thereafter, with their newborn child. Actress Malavika
receives no privileged attention at the ashrams established
and administered by the Complainant. In fact, no visitor to
any of the ashrams established and administered by the
Complainant is accorded any privileged attention or
treatment. The Complainant wishes to further state that the
accused have largely misquoted and misrepresented the
statements of the Complainant uttered during his sermon
delivered after release from judicial custody. The Complainant
never once said that his soul had traveled to distance places
while he was in jail. Further, the manner and context in
which the accused have misquoted and misrepresented the
statements of the Complainant clearly amount to defamation
of the most damaging kind. The accused have therefore,
committed an irreversible defamation of the reputation and
character of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AI Annexure AI1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 33
Publication:
5-Aug-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
Bala Accused No. 20
233

593. The accused have represented in a cartoon that:

The scene is a barber‟s shop. A man is sitting and the


barber is cutting his hair. Another man is reading the
paper and telling the barber the news that reads,
„Ranjitha can come again to the ashram: Nithyananda
issues statement‟

Below it is asked, „Oh! then will the spiritual


research begin again….?‟

594. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused have


chosen to falsely attribute to the Complainant, statements
that he never did utter. Thereafter, the accused have chosen
to submit the Complainant to ridicule for the very things the
accused have falsified in his name. Nevertheless, by ridiculing
the Complainant for statements that the accused have
previously fabricated in his name, the accused have
committed a grave defamation of the reputation and character
of the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AJ Annexure AJ1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 38
Publication:
22-Aug-2010
Author: Position of Author in the
Complaint:
P.Rajini Kanth Accused No. 21

595. The accused have stated:

We will not allow Nithyananda into Tamil Nadu –


Heavy opposition from Hindu People’s Party

- P Rajini Kanth

Actor SV Shekar who had met Nithyananda in person


has invited him to come over to his house. Strong
234

opposition has arisen for this. It is surprising that


those who are opposing this are from Hindu People‟s
party.

Regarding this scandal we met the Hindu People‟s Party


State Organization Secretary Kannan and spoke to him.
It has been said that sannyasis have all indulged in
family life. In ancient times there were child marriages.
Later they attained mukthi and became Mahans or
yogis. To compare this situation with Nithyananda is
wrong. Nithyananda wears ochre robes and teaches
sannyas. Wearing ochre robes and being with Ranjitha
is a very big mistake. Ranjitha is another person‟s wife.
SV Shekar who shows himself as a devotee of
Sankaracharya Mutt, kept quiet without supporting the
Mutt during the Murder case on Shankaracharya and
voiced his support to Jayalalitha at that time. He did
not participate in any protest staged by supporters of
Shankaracharya. He, who did not support
Shankaracharyar himself, today is inviting Nithyananda
to his home. It makes us think does this mean that he
has got any evidence from Nithyananda.

So far as we are concerned we will allow Nithyananda


into Tamil Nadu only if it is proved that he is chaste.
Over and above this if he steps into Tamil Nadu we will
stage a protest. We will send the women and stop him
entering the place where he is coming.

If it is proved that all charges against him are false then


we will ourselves take him to all the nook and corners of
Tamil Nadu.

Do not know why this sudden love SV Shekar has for


Nithyananda. Before this when Premananda was
arrested where had he been? Why did he not voice his
support for Premananda?
235

Society is more important than the individuals. We will


not allow such disgusting acts of such individuals.‟ He
said this and ended with it.

596. The Complainant respectfully submits that the accused failed


to note that the territory of Tamil Nadu is not the property of
the Hindu People‟s Party or of any other person. The accused
seem to implicitly endorse the resolve of the Hindu People‟s
Party that they will decide on the suitability of the
Complainant to enter into the territory of Tamil Nadu. Their
attention is drawn to the fact that the Complainant is a
citizen of this country and he holds an unfettered right to
enter into the territory of Tamil Nadu at will. It is not for the
Hindu People‟s Party or for the accused‟s magazine to raise a
barrier on the borders of the Tamil Nadu State. Further, by
openly endorsing divisive tendencies in such manner, the
accused have violated the oath administered to every
journalist – to uphold constitutional ideals at all times.
Further, the accused must have been too happy to reproduce
the outrage of another person to the video that allegedly
purports to depict the Complainant. As stated earlier, by
taking the position that the accused have taken of the video
in question, the accused have already committed the most
blatant defamation of the reputation and character of the
Complainant. Added to it all, by igniting and endorsing
divisive tendencies for the purpose of supporting hostility to
the Complainant, the accused have clearly engaged in the
grossest form of defamation of the reputation and character of
the Complainant.

Original news report - Translated news report –


Annexure AK Annexure AK1
Date of Volume: 10 Issue: 77
Publication:
06-Jan-2011
236

Author: Position of Author in the


Complaint:
M.P. Gajaraj Accused No. 22

597. The accused have stated:

In Thiruvannamalai-The people who chased and beat


Nithyananda
-MP Gajaraj
Swami Nithyananda, who was torn to pieces by the
media a few months back, visited Thiruvannamalai
recently. The organizations, who felt that the sanctity of
the Annamalayar temple was spoilt by his visit rose in
agitation and conducted protest. With heavy police
security Nithyananda conducted his puja at the temple.

The problem started when the CD showing Nithyananda


alone with Ranjitha was released. Nithyananda, who
went through a lot of suffering such as hiding, case,
adjournments, imprisonment was told not to deliver any
discourses anywhere other than the ashram. He should
not travel anywhere including his native town. After
laying all these conditions, the court set him free with
the bail.

After the court relaxed these conditions Nithyananda


came to his native town Thiruvannamalai on 28th. His
devotees welcomed him with overwhelming enthusiasm
when he came to this ashram on the girivala route.
Once this news spread across the Thiruvannamalai
District there was great sensationalism.

The police got alert when the news spread that


hundreds of persons from the Marxist and Communist
party and progressive writers association were going to
surround the ashram.

Since the news spread that Nithyananda was going to


come to the Annamalayar temple the next day early
237

morning, the opposition decided not to go to the ashram


and instead decided to wait at the temple when he
comes early morning.

Early next morning on Wednesday the opposition


gathered as early as 4am near the Ammani Amman
entrance to the temple and police were piled on there
without caring for the shivering cold. More than the
police it was Nithyananda‟s disciples, who were running
here and there.

Abhiraman the advocate belonging to the Marxist


Communist Party, Karuna from the Tamil Nadu
Progressive Writer‟s association, the administrators
from the Indian Youth Democratic Federation, men
and women, hundreds of people had gathered at the
temple entrance and waved black flags. At the entrance
to the temple they were stopped by the police.

„Low intelligence man who used women who are equal to


God for sex do not enter the Annamalaiyar shrine, do
not spoil the sanctity by setting foot; even Unnamalaiyar
is a lady, get out of Thiruvannamalai‟ like this they
shouted many slogans against the saamiyar. Saamiyar‟s
disciples who saw this burst out and shouted, „May
Swami Nithyananda‟s fame rise‟ countering the protest.

Seeing the tense situation the police took swamiar


through another entrance. Nithy, who did puja in the
open space near Arunagiriyar Mantapa sat on a silver
plank and gave blessings to all the devotees.

The protestors coming to know of this agitatedly tried to


enter the temple but were prevented by the police. No
saamiyar has so far come into the temple with his
devotees and done meditation or given a discourse.

When we enquired into the background for this we


found that a „special‟ puja was done last week at a
238

college that belongs to a VIP. A close saamiyar of


Nithyananda only has done this puja. It seems
Nithyananda took special attention of the
Thiruvannamalai district Police. That is why the police
gave protection for Nithyananda from when he came
and went back from the temple.

But that joy did not even stay for a brief time.
Nithyananda who came out of the temple in a showy
way was way laid by thousands near Shanmuga School.
Saamiyar‟s side when they saw this escaped and went
the way they came at the speed of lightening.

We spoke to the DMAKS party leader Karuna, who


headed the protest.

“If only we were able to get hold of that fake saamiyar,


the women in our organization would have taught him a
lesson. The sanctity of this Annamalaiyar temple has
been spoilt by Sex Saamiyar Nithyanandam and his
disciples by stepping into the temple. This lustful man
has taken the temple on rent like taking a room on rent
for two hours and has had his fun and gone.

We do not know how the endowment board officials gave


permission for this. The police have to file a case against
this lustful man for trespassing beyond the space allotted
to him.

If not we also have plans to do yoga, meditation within


the Annamalaiyar temple. For people like us, who do not
even look at other‟s wives, the sanctity of the temple will
not be affected by people like us”, Karuna said in an
agitated voice.

But somehow, Nithyananda has given what he had to


and done what he came for and went away.

598. The Complainant respectfully submits that the penchant of


the accused for exaggeration is most prominently displayed in
239

their aforesaid paragraphs. The Complainant respectfully


submits that he has learnt that a number of people attributed
to have said derogatory things against the Complainant were
motivated to say so by the accused. Further, the accused
have said „hundreds‟ when in fact, there were no more than
„fifty‟ persons belonging to certain groups which had
assembled at the premises to demonstrate against the
Complainant. Further, a few prominent saints have either
offered discourses or have meditated within the very premises
of the temple in relation to which the accused have seen it fit
to blindly recite the claim of ignorant people that „no
Saamiyar has meditated in the premises of the temple‟.
Further, no „special pooja‟, as claimed by the accused, was
performed for the benefit of any VIP. The accused will fail
miserably to prove, even to an ordinarily probability, that
such an event took place. Further, there weren‟t „thousands‟
when the Complainant was interrupted closer to a school.
There were just „ten‟ persons and that is all. And, contrary to
what the accused have claimed, the disciples of the
Complainant did not flee the scene and they would not see
any imperative to do so. They were present in Tiruvannamalai
for a divine purpose and not to flee. Further, the Complainant
did not seek and did not get any favour from the police at
Tiruvannamalai. He simply sought from the Police, a simple
protection that troublemakers be distanced from his devotees.
That is the very work of the police. Rest of the comments that
the accused have elicited from sundry persons are false and
denied as to its substance. In all, by deliberately and
knowingly depicting the Complainant in a false and
derogatory alight, the accused have most blatantly defamed
the reputation and character of the Complainant.

599. The Complainant offers below, a general argument on the


non-applicability of the exceptions to Section 499 of the
Indian Penal Code, 1860:
240

600. Defence of ‘truth’ and ‘public good’: The Complainant


respectfully submits that the statements of the accused are
far from true and even where true, the statements are solely
calculated to inflict injury upon the reputation of the
Complainant without aiming, on its face in any manner, the
promotion of public good. Further, the comments of the
accused are far too extensive and intrusive to be of any
assistance to the public and are wholly incapable of achieving
public welfare or public good in any manner. To humiliate the
Complainant and to render him an object of contempt,
ridicule and hostility by the society does not and cannot
promote public good in any manner. Similarly, knowingly,
deliberately and intentionally fabricating stories, inventing
fictions and characters, fabricating statements and interviews
are acts of falsehood that cannot, by any stretch of
imagination, be considered to be in public good.

601. Defence of ‘fair comment’: The Complainant respectfully


submits that the defence of „fair comment‟ is simply
unavailable to the accused. It is submitted that the defence of
fair comment is available only in respect of comments or
opinion and not in respect of facts. Much of what is stated by
the accused to constitute „facts‟ are nothing more than
„fabrication of false stories, false statements and false
interviews‟ by the accused and accordingly, a substantial part
of the content generated by the accused purports to be in the
nature of „factual reporting‟ and the defence of fair comment
is wholly inapplicable to such content. As to the content that
is purported to the opinion or comment by the accused, the
Complainant respectfully submits that the malice and
improper motives of the accused furnish no good ground to
characterise such comments as „fair‟ or „justified‟. The
accused have expressed much hostility towards the
Complainant and the glaring presence of malice disentitles
241

their comments to be characterised either as „fair‟ or


„justified‟.

602. Defence of ‘good faith’: The defence of „good faith‟ involves a


pleading of honesty, due care and attention. The nature of
reporting adopted by the accused is of such kind that unless
the accused made a conscious decision to abandon honesty,
due care and attention, their reporting could not have taken
the „salacious‟ form which it has actually taken. Further, the
Complainant respectfully submits that the nature of reporting
by the accused is such as to titillate the senses of the
depraved section of its readers and the Complainant‟s
reputation has been wholly sacrificed by the accused in their
pursuit of more and more titillating and salacious reporting.
As such, the defence of good faith is wholly inapplicable to the
impugned content generated by the accused as such content
is glaringly short on honesty, due care or attention.

603. The Complainant offers below, specific arguments on the non-


applicability of the exceptions to Section 499 of the Indian
Penal Code, 1860:

First Exception – It is not defamation to impute


anything which is true concerning any person, if it
be for the public good that the imputation should
be made or published. Whether or not is for the
public good is a question of fact.

604. The Complainant respectfully submits that the first exception


relates to matters that are „true‟. However, much of the
content complained about in this complaint are patently false
stories concerning the Complainant. Further, even in respect
of some content which might have been a depiction of true
state of affairs, the Complainant submits that there is no
element of „public good‟ underlying such reports. As such, the
Complainant respectfully submits that the first exception is
wholly inapplicable in relation to the instant complaint.
242

Second Exception – It is not defamation to express


in good faith any opinion whatever respecting the
conduct of a public servant in the discharge of his
public functions, or respecting his character, so far
as his character appears in that conduct, and no
further.

605. The Complainant respectfully submits that he did not occupy


the position of a „public servant‟ at any point of time in his
life. Further, the news reports that are complained about in
this Complaint make no imputation that the Complainant
held any „public office‟ or that he acted as a „public servant‟ at
any point of time. As such, the second exception is wholly
inapplicable to the instant complaint.

Third Exception – It is not defamation to express in


good faith any opinion whatever respecting the
conduct of any person touching any public
question, and respecting his character, so far as
his character appears in that conduct, and no
further.

606. The Complainant respectfully submits that, even by


construing the issue of “whether a religious practitioner may
choose to not to be a celibate” as a public question, the news
reports that constitute adverse comment by the accused are
not protected by this exception. There are numerous grounds
that deny such protection. These grounds have been
adequately described against each impugned news report.
Accordingly, adopting the negative definition of “good faith” as
contained in Section 52 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, “due
care” and “attention” are the essential requirements of any
action claimed to have been done in good faith. In this
connection to illustrate, the Complainant respectfully submits
that the accused would not find any reference to any
declaration or proclamation by the Complainant to the effect
243

that he is a celibate in any of his books, speeches or sermons.


As such when the accused adversely comment upon the
Complainant by assuming the video to be true, they are
presumed to have made a reasonable effort to identify if the
Complainant did ever declare or proclaim himself to be
celibate. Because the Complainant asserts here that he never
did proclaim or declare to such effect, all the related adverse
comments by the accused fail to elicit protection from the
third exception to Section 499. Further, adverse comments
upon the alleged conduct of the Complainant in relation to
such a presumed public question are a very small part of the
instant complaint. Therefore, the Complainant reasonably
asserts that the third exception to Section 499 has no
application to the instant complaint.

Forth Exception – It is not defamation to publish a


substantially true report of the proceedings of a
court of Justices, or of the result of any such
proceedings.

607. The Complainant respectfully submits that a very small part


of the impugned news report purports to be a record of
proceeding in a Court of law. However, instead of accurately
reporting those judicial proceedings, the accused have
deemed it expedient to grossly distort the content of those
judicial proceedings. Besides, matters that never did occur
inside a Court room have been narrated by the accused for
the sole purpose of painting the Complainant in a bad light.
As such, the forth exception Section 499 would have no
application to the instant complaint.

Fifth Exception – It is not defamation to express in


good faith any opinion whatever respecting the
merits of any case, civil or criminal, which has
been decided by a Court of Justice, or respecting
the conduct of any person as a party, witness or
244

agent, in any such case, or respecting the


character of such person, as far his character
appears in that conduct, and no further.

608. The Complainant respectfully submits that the protection


contained in the fifth exception is wholly inapplicable to the
impugned news reports in view of the fact that the opinion
expressed by the accused does not purport to touch the
merits of a judicial matter that has been decided by a Court of
Law. Further, the fifth exception to Section 499 is limited to
any opinion expressed in relation to a „case‟ decided by a
Court of justice. Nevertheless, even assuming that a FIR
somehow falls into the ambit of this exception, the accused
have traversed beyond the contents of the FIR by grossly
imagining and fabricating stories and events and reproducing
their own imagination and fabrication as a report on the
actual state of affairs concerning the Complainant. Therefore,
the fifth exception to Section 499 has no manner of
application to the instant complaint.

Sixth Exception – It is not defamation to express in


good faith any opinion respecting the merits of any
performance which its author has submitted to the
judgment of the public, or respecting the character
of the author as far as his character appears in
such performance, and no further.

609. The Complainant respectfully submits that the sixth


exception has no relevance whatsoever to the instant
complaint. However, even assuming that the books, speeches
and sermons conducted by the Complainant could be brought
within this exception, the predominant part of the impugned
news reports do not factually relate to any such book speech
or sermon. Therefore, an adverse comment founded on an
imagined passage in a book, speech or sermon is beyond the
sixth exception to Section 499 of the Indian Penal code 1860.
245

Similarly, an adverse comment upon the Complainant


purporting to reflect on imagined deviation from imagined
passage in his books, speeches or sermons is not protected
howsoever by the sixth exception to Section 499.

Seventh Exception – It is not defamation in a


person having over another any authority, either
conferred by law or arising out of a lawful contract
made with that other, to pass in good faith any
censure on the conduct of that other in matters to
which such lawful authority relates.

610. The Complainant respectfully submits that the seventh


exception to Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 has
no application howsoever to the instant complaint. None of
the accused possess any lawful authority over the
Complainant, whether by operation of law or by contract.
Therefore, the protection under the seventh exception to
Section 499 has no application to the accused howsoever.

Eighth Exception – It is not defamation to prefer in


good faith an accusation against any person to any
of those who have lawful authority over that person
with respect to the subject-matter of accusation.

611. The Complainant respectfully submits that the news reports


impugned in the instant complaint are wholly in the nature of
salacious reporting concerning the Complainant and his
affairs. Further, the audience for the impugned news reports
are persons with debased and prurient interests and minds.
As such, the eighth exception is wholly inapplicable to the
instant Complaint as such readers do not ex readers do not
exercise any legal authority over the Complainant.

Ninth Exception – It is not defamation to make an


imputation on the character of another provided
that the imputation be made in good faith for the
246

protection of the interest of the person making it,


or of any other person, or for the public good.

612. The Complainant respectfully states that a substantial part of


the impugned news report constitutes stories and accounts
fabricated by the accused and passing off the same as a true
state of events concerning the Complainant and his affairs. As
such, there is none amongst the general public that the
accused have sought to protect by fabricating stories or by
inventing false fiction concerning the Complainant. Further,
public interest is always harmed by the salacious nature of
reporting adopted by the accused in relation to the affairs of
the Complainant. As such, the ninth exception to Section 499
is wholly inapplicable to the instant complaint.

Tenth Exception – It is not defamation to convey a


caution, in good faith, to one person against
another, provided that such caution be intended for
the good of the person to whom it is conveyed, or of
some person in whom that person is interested, or
for the public good.

613. The Complainant respectfully submits that the tenth


exception is wholly inapplicable to the instant complaint.
There is no element of caution that could be gauged in any of
the salacious reports that the accused have chosen to weave
on the basis of their own imagination. As such, the “public
good” element is thoroughly absent in all of the salacious
news reports the accused have chosen to publish concerning
the Complainant and his affairs. As such, no part of the tenth
exception to Section 499 is applicable to any part of the
salacious news reports impugned in the instant complaint.

614. The reasons for arraying the actual authors as the accused
have already been explained and documented against each
impugned news report. All the authors named against each
impugned news report held a common intention to harm the
247

reputation of the Complainant and were clearly aware that


the nature and content of their writing was bound to impure
the reputation of the Complainant. Further, the accused
authors were aware of the actual damage and harm inflicted
upon the reputation of the Complainant.

615. The Complainant offers below, the rationale and reasons for
arraying as the accused, individuals other than the actual
authors of the news reports:

616. Accused No.1 – Sri S.Selvarangam, the publisher of the


magazine and Accused No.2, Sri Pa.Varadarajan, the
Chairman and Managing Director of the magazine: the
Complainant respectfully submits that Sri. Selvarangam, the
publisher of the Kumudam Reporter Magazine and Sri
Pa.Varadarajan, the Chairman and Managing Director of the
magazine have been arrayed as Accused No.1 and No.2
respectively in the instant complaint in view of the fact that,
in their respective capacities as the publisher and
chairman/managing director of the Kumudam Reporter
Magazine, they were the owners of the impugned content and
were clearly in a position to prevent the publication of content
defamatory to the Complainant on grounds that have been
cited in this complaint. Besides, as the owners of the
Kumudam Reporter magazine, these accused might have held
an incentive to keep the content of their magazine as
salacious as possible for the purpose of appealing to the
prurient and debased interests of its readers, presumably, for
the purpose of increasing sales and circulation. Increased
sales and circulation are expected to confer increased money
upon the publisher and chairman/managing director.
Accordingly, these accused had a well defined financial
incentive to publish salacious content concerning the
Complainant and did not, therefore, take steps to prevent the
publication of content defamatory to the Complainant.
Further, there was abrupt increase in the editions and the
248

sole purpose of such increased editions appears to have been


a motivation to publish greater and more salacious reporting
concerning the Complainant. As such, the publisher of
Kumudam Reporter Magazine, the accused No.1, Sri.
Selvarangam and the chairman and managing director of the
magazine, Sri Pa.Varadarajan, the accused No.2 acted with
the other accused with a common intention to harm the
reputation of the Complainant and possessed thorough
knowledge and information that the nature of content that
was sought to be published concerning the Complainant was
bound to injure his reputation. Further, the authors who
wrote salacious and debased content concerning the
Complainant could not have generated such content unless
and until they were satisfied and convinced that the owners of
the magazine were eager for such content and were ready to
publish all of such content. Also, the further fact that these
accused took out more number of editions primarily to
criminally defame the Complainant was itself a clear reminder
to journalists employed at Kumudam Reporter Magazine that
the owner, Sri. Selvarangam, the accused No.1 and the
chairman and managing director, Sri Pa.Varadarajan, the
accused No.2 would reward salacious nature of reporting
concerning the Complainant. As such, the accused No.1, Sri
Selvarangam, in his capacity as the publisher of Kumudam
Reporter magazine and the accused No.2, Sri Pa.Varadarajan
in his capacity as the chairman and managing director are
liable to be tried to the fullest extent with the other accused
in the instant complaint – in terms of Section 34 of the Indian
Penal Code, 1860. Further, when a person knowingly,
intentionally and deliberately sells or makes available for sale,
any printed or engraved substance containing defamatory
matter, he renders himself liable for punishment under
Section 502 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. As such, the
accused No.1, Sri S.Selvarangam and the accused No.2, Sri
249

Pa.Varadarajan are liable to be punished under Section 502 of


the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

617. Accused No.3, Printer, Sri S. Paul Antony Raj: the


Complainant respectfully submits that the accused No.3, Sri
S. Paul Antony Raj, possessed the infrastructure to print the
content conveyed to him by the publisher, accused No.1 and
chairman and managing director, accused No.2. As such, the
printer of Kumudam Reporter Magazine, Sri S. Paul Antony
Raj possessed the means and the power to refuse to print
content defamatory to the Complainant but chose to not
refuse the printing of such content. As such, the printer
therefore becomes liable to the same extent as the other
accused due to the fact that he has employed his resources to
the detriment of the Complainant. Therefore, the printer is
required to be treated as having acted with other accused
with a common intention to harm the reputation of the
Complainant. Further, the printer was under a legal duty to
realize that the printing and circulation of such content was
bound to injure the reputation of the Complainant. Further
the Printer, accused No.3, Sri. S. Paul Antony Raj was bound
to be alerted to the possibility of salacious, content
concerning the Complainant when more editions were printed
with headlines screaming about the Complainant. As such,
the printer, accused No.3, Sri S. Paul Antony Raj is liable to
be tried to the fullest extent with the other accused in the
instant complaint – in terms of Section 34 of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860. Further, when a person knowingly, intentionally
and deliberately prints or engraves any defamatory matter, he
renders himself liable for punishment under Section 501 of
the Indian Penal Code, 1860. As such, the accused No.3, Sri
S. Paul Antony Raj is liable to be punished under Section 501
of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

618. Accused No.4, Sri S.Illangovan, the editor of Kumudam


Reporter Magazine: The Complainant respectfully submits
250

that Sri. S. Illangovan, the editor-in-chief of Kumudam


Reporter Magazine has been arrayed as accused No.4
primarily due to the fact that in his capacity as the editor of
the magazine, he exercised full control over the content that
would eventually be published by the magazine. In other
words, the editor-in-chief of the Kumudam Reporter
Magazine, Sri. S. Illangovan, the accused No.4, was always in
a position to simply refuse to permit publication of salacious
content concerning the Complainant. Had only the accused
No.4, Sri. S. Illangovan, in his capacity as the editor of the
magazine refused to permit the publication of the impugned
content, the Complainant could not have raised any manner
of grievance concerning the impugned content. Further, an
editor of a magazine is legally entrusted with the duty to
select content for publication. As such, an editor acquires a
commensurate legal responsibility for content that he selects
for publication. As such, an editor derives a legal power to
prohibit publication that could violate the law of the land or
could violate norms of decency or morality. As such, the mere
private authoring of salacious reports concerning the
Complainant would not have been enough for the
Complainant to raise a grievance unless and until the editor
of the magazine approved such content and cleared the same
for publication. Therefore the Complainant raises a grievance
against the editor of the magazine to the same extent that he
has been compelled to raise against the actual authors of the
articles concerned. Further, the Complainant respectfully
submits that the editor-in-chief of the Kumudam Reporter
Magazine might have possessed the financial incentive at the
relevant time to increase circulation and distribution by
catering to the debased and prurient interests of its readers.
Accordingly, the Complainant has joined Sri. S. Illangovan,
the Accused No.4, in his capacity as the editor of the
Kumudam reporter magazine for his acts of active approval to
251

publish salacious nature of reporting concerning the


Complainant. Therefore, by such approval, the accused No.4,
Sri S Illangovan acted with other accused with a common
intention to harm the reputation of the Complainant. Further,
the accused No.4, Sri S.Illangovan clearly knew that the
publication of such content was bound to injure the
reputation of the Complainant. As such, the accused No.4, Sri
S.Illangovan, in his capacity as the editor of Kumudam
Reporter magazine is liable to be tried to the fullest extent
with the other accused in the instant complaint – in terms of
Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

619. Accused No.5, Joint Editor, Sri M.Pandiarajan;

Accused No.6, Assistant Editor, Sri Bala Jyothi;

Accused No.7, Assistant Editor, Sri S Mohan;

Accused No.8, Assistant Editor, Sri Vettai Perumal;

Accused No.9, Coordinator of Editorial Board, Sri


S.Subramanian; the Complainant respectfully submits that
these individuals, in their capacity as assistant or joint
editors or as coordinator of editorial board are bound to have
had a definite legal role in approving for publication, the
salacious content concerning the Complainant. Further, the
fact that the Kumudam Reporter Magazine itself lists the
names and positions of these accused clearly indicates that
the magazine intended a legal power and responsibility upon
each of these individuals to partly, selectively or otherwise
approve content that was submitted to them. As such, these
individuals, by virtue of their legal power within the magazine
possessed the requisite authority to refuse approval of
salacious content concerning the Complainant. The fact that
the magazine did publish such content clearly indicates that
these individuals facilitated the publication of salacious
content concerning the Complainant by actively or otherwise
approving and clearing such content for publication.
252

Therefore, by such approval, these accused acted with other


accused with a common intention to harm the reputation of
the Complainant. Further, these accused clearly knew that
the publication of such content was bound to injure the
reputation of the Complainant. As such, these accused in
their capacity as the joint, assistant or coordinating editor of
Kumudam Reporter magazine are liable to be tried to the
fullest extent with the other accused in the instant complaint
– in terms of Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

620. Finally, as stated earlier, the Complainant submits that the


authors of the impugned articles who have been arrayed as
accused No.10 to 22 have acted with a common intention to
harm the reputation of the accused – to the extent that they
are shown as the authors for a given news report. Further,
the names of the authors for each news report have been
stated in the preceding pages. The reasons for attaching legal
and criminal liability upon the authors has been clearly
described in the preceding pages against each impugned
news report. As such, the authors clearly intended and knew
that the salacious nature of reporting concerning the
Complainant was bound to injure his reputation. Therefore,
the authors, arrayed as Accused No.10 to 22 are liable to be
tried to the fullest– in terms of Section 34 of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860.

621. Actual harm upon the Complainant: The Complainant


respectfully submits, as already documented in the preceding
pages, that his reputation has been gravely injured and
harmed by the collective acts of the accused and that every
manner of grievance raised in this complaint against the acts
of the accused may be read as including a further grievance
that those acts were calculated to injure and harm the
reputation of the Complainant and that the same have indeed
caused, actual injury and harm to the reputation of the
Complainant.
253

622. As such, the accused Nos.4 to 22 are liable for punishment


under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 whereas
accused Nos.1 and 2 are liable for punishment under Section
502 and accused No.3 is liable for punishment under Section
501 thereof.

623. Limitation under Section 468 of the Criminal Procedure


Code, 1973: The Complainant respectfully submits that the
earliest impugned news report is dated 11-Mar-2010. In
terms of Section 468(2)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code,
1973 this Complaint is required to be filed within a period of
three years from 11-Mar-2010 (due to the fact that the
maximum term of imprisonment under Section 500 of the
Indian Penal Code, 1860 is a period of 2 years). This
Complaint has been filed in this Hon‟ble Court on 26-Mar-
2012. As such, this Complaint is filed within time as
reckoned for the purpose of Section 468 of the Criminal
Procedure Code, 1973.

624. Compliance with Section 199 of the Criminal Procedure


Code, 1973: The Complainant is fully aggrieved by reasons of
the printing, publication, dissemination and circulation of the
impugned news reports. As such, he is the foremost
„aggrieved person‟ in respect of the impugned news reports.
Further, the Complainant is represented herein by a legal
practitioner. However, the Complainant respectfully states
that he would conform to the practice rules formulated under
Section 199 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 by
personally presenting himself to the Court except where
specifically excused by this Hon‟ble Court.

PRAYER
Wherefore, in view of the circumstances most distressingly
narrated above, the Complainant most humbly begs that this
Hon‟ble Court be graciously pleased to:
254

a) summon the accused to answer a charge of having


collectively intended the commission of criminal
defamation of the Complainant in terms of Section 499 of
the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 34 thereof
and to;

b) summon the accused to answer a charge of collectively


knowing or having reasons to believe that their collective
acts and imputations would harm the reputation of the
Complainant and of causing actual harm to the
reputation of the Complainant in terms of Section 499 of
the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 34 thereof
and to;

c) adjudge the accused as guilty, whether by consent or


upon trial, and to subject them, individually, to the due
and full punishment - in terms of Section 502 of the
Indian Penal Code, 1860 in relation to accused Nos.1 and
2, in terms of Section 501 thereof in relation to accused
No.3 and in terms of Section 500 thereof in relation to
accused Nos.4 to 22;

d) to pass any other order or direction as may be desired or


deemed expedient by this Hon‟ble Court in the interest of
justice and expediency.

Date: 26-Mar-2012 Complainant

NITHYANANDA SWAMI

Place: Bidadi Advocate for Complainant

K.V.DHANANJAY

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