Delhi HC Orders Probe Into Rohini Ashram, Missing Inmate After Preacher's Death
The Delhi High Court on Monday observed that the affairs of ashrams associated with the late self-styled spiritual preacher Virender Dev Dixit require an inquiry, questioning who is accountable for operating the institutions following his death, while hearing a matter concerning the Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya ashram in Rohini.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the Station House Officer of Vijay Vihar police station to register a missing person case and initiate a probe after women residing at the Rohini ashram informed the court that an inmate was missing while her personal belongings remained on the premises.
During the hearing, the Central Bureau of Investigation informed the court that Dixit, who had been absconding for a long time amid rape allegations, is dead. The Bench subsequently questioned who was responsible for managing the ashrams, stating that society holds a legitimate right to know what activities are conducted there.
"Somebody should own the responsibility. We are not coming in way of anybody’s faith or spiritual beliefs. Everybody is free to practise that, provided it does not disturb public order," the Bench stated. The court added that if no entity or individual steps forward to assume responsibility, the State may need to intervene, stressing that no one can be left unaccountable.
The litigation originates from 2017, when the NGO Foundation for Social Empowerment approached the High Court alleging that minor girls and women were being kept in illegal confinement at the ashram and barred from meeting their parents. The High Court had previously directed the CBI to submit a status report on the rape allegations against Dixit.
In a recent application, the parents of the missing woman stated that she had spoken to them via a video call but refused to visit them, even though her father was seriously ill and undergoing treatment in a hospital. Their counsel alleged that women at the facility were being drugged and that several inmates were minors.
The Bench also raised questions regarding the institution's finances, asking what prevented the Income Tax Department from examining its accounts. Police have been directed to complete the inquiry and submit their findings to the court on August 31.
