Swami Saswathikananda’s death: HC rules out further probe
The Kerala High Court has recently stated that the 2002 death of Swami Saswathikananda was due to accidental drowning and dismissed a petition seeking further investigation into the case Justice Kauser Edappagath, in a judgment delivered on March 12, observed that multiple probes, including the final one conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), found no evidence to support allegations of homicide. Swami Saswathikananda, a prominent monk and president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust, was found dead at the Periyar bathing ghat on July 1, 2002. Allegations of foul play surfaced soon after, leading to multiple investigations over the years.“The investigation and further investigation were conducted several times, and all the investigations revealed that it was a case of death due to accidental drowning,” the court stated and added that the postmortem findings were consistent with drowning and that the chemical analysis report did not indicate any signs of homicide.The initial probe by the local police, which examined 56 witnesses, concluded that he drowned while bathing. A second investigation, conducted in 2004 following a direction from the High Court, reaffirmed this conclusion. Despite pleas for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, both the High Court and the Supreme Court dismissed such requests. The Kerala government, however, ordered a third investigation in 2007, assigning the case to an SIT. After extensive inquiry, the SIT filed its final report in 2013, again ruling out any foul play.The latest petition, filed by the All Kerala Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Protection Council, challenged the SIT’s findings, citing suspicions regarding the conduct of Swami’s personal assistant Sabu and his driver Subhash. The Court, however, noted that both individuals had been interrogated and subjected to polygraph tests, which yielded no incriminating results. The Court concluded that there was no credible evidence to support the claim.“After conducting the further investigation, the SIT submitted the final report on 06.02.2021, reiterating that it is a case of accidental drowning. In these circumstances, I am of the view that no more investigation is necessary in this case,” Justice Edappagath ruled, dismissing the petition.
THE Kerala High Court has recently stated that the 2002 death of Swami Saswathikananda was due to accidental drowning and dismissed a petition seeking further investigation into the case.
Justice Kauser Edappagath, in a judgment delivered on March 12, observed that multiple probes, including the final one conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), found no evidence to support allegations of homicide.
Swami Saswathikananda, a prominent monk and president of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust, was found dead at the Periyar bathing ghat on July 1, 2002.
Allegations of foul play surfaced soon after, leading to multiple investigations over the years.
“The investigation and further investigation were conducted several times, and all the investigations revealed that it was a case of death due to accidental drowning,” the court stated and added that the postmortem findings were consistent with drowning and that the chemical analysis report did not indicate any signs of homicide.
The initial probe by the local police, which examined 56 witnesses, concluded that he drowned while bathing. A second investigation, conducted in 2004 following a direction from the High Court, reaffirmed this conclusion.
Despite pleas for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, both the High Court and the Supreme Court dismissed such requests. The Kerala government, however, ordered a third investigation in 2007, assigning the case to an SIT. After extensive inquiry, the SIT filed its final report in 2013, again ruling out any foul play.
The latest petition, filed by the All Kerala Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Protection Council, challenged the SIT’s findings, citing suspicions regarding the conduct of Swami’s personal assistant Sabu and his driver Subhash.
The Court, however, noted that both individuals had been interrogated and subjected to polygraph tests, which yielded no incriminating results. The Court concluded that there was no credible evidence to support the claim.
“After conducting further investigation, the SIT submitted the final report on 06.02.2021, reiterating that it is a case of accidental drowning. In these circumstances, I am of the view that no more investigation is necessary in this case,” Justice Edappagath ruled, dismissing the petition.
