Delhi HC orders probe into affairs of Virender Dev Dixit’s ashrams after CBI says he is dead

During the proceedings, the court was also informed by the CBI`s counsel that Dixit, who had been absconding for a long time, was now dead. Representational Pic

The Delhi High Court on Monday said an inquiry was needed into the affairs of the ashrams of self-styled spiritual preacher Virender Dev Dixit, as society has every reason to know about the activities taking place there, after the CBI informed the court that he is dead.

The court was hearing a matter related to allegations that several women and girls were being held in illegal confinement at the Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidhyalaya ashram in Rohini, north-west Delhi.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the station house officer (SHO) of Delhi's Vijay Vihar police station to register a missing person case and initiate a probe after being informed by ashram women that an inmate was missing while her belongings were still lying on the premises.

During the proceedings, the court was also informed by the CBI's counsel that Dixit, who had been absconding for a long time, was now dead.

"Courts cannot interfere with their activities provided they are not disturbing the public order. That is the only test. But nobody can be left unaccountable. The peers of the ashram cannot be left unaccountable. Somebody should be there and, if nobody comes forward, the State will take it over," the bench said.

The court was informed that the missing woman's parents were seriously ill and had no one else to look after them in their advanced age. They wished to meet their daughter, whom they had spoken to over a video call, but she had refused to visit them.

The bench said, "We are of the opinion that the affairs of the ashrams and the manner in which they are being run need to undergo an inquiry.

"Since respondent 4 (woman inmate) is said to be missing though her luggage and belongings are lying in the Rohini Ashram, we direct the SHO of Vijay Vihar police station to register a case of missing person and conduct an inquiry into the whereabouts of respondent 4."

The court directed the SHO to complete the inquiry and apprise it of the outcome on August 31, the next date of hearing.

The bench said it was not coming in the way of anyone's faith or belief, but there had to be accountability.

"Somebody should own up responsibility. We are not coming in the way of anybody's faith or spiritual belief. Everybody is free to practice that, provided it does not disturb the public order.

"But there has to be accountability. Somebody should own up responsibility and somebody should be accountable," the bench said.

It added that society has every reason to know what exactly is happening in the ashrams.

The application filed by the missing woman's parents stated that while her father was in a serious medical condition and admitted to a hospital, they spoke to their daughter over a video call and found that she was also in a bad condition.

Her counsel claimed that the women inmates at the ashram were being drugged and were mentally incapable of giving free consent to anything.

She also alleged that some of the inmates at the Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidhyalaya ashram in Rohini were minors.

After going through the records of the case, the bench orally said, "Can the minor inmates, if any, be left at the mercy of the ashram people?"

"What is happening? There are such startling facts. How can these things be left like this? That fellow (Dixit) is absconding and nobody is taking responsibility for running the ashram. What stops the Income Tax department from checking their accounts? From where are these monies coming?" the bench asked.

The application was filed in pending petitions, including a plea moved by the mother of a woman who is stated to be residing at the ashram under the influence of some people, and another filed by an aged couple alleging that their "highly educated daughter" had been misled into living there and was harbouring "overvalued ideas".

The court had earlier observed that there were serious allegations of rape against Dixit and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a status report.

The CBI's counsel had said that two FIRs had been lodged against Dixit for alleged rape and that all efforts were being made to apprehend him.

In 2017, NGO Foundation for Social Empowerment filed a plea alleging that several minor girls and women were being illegally confined at Dixit's "spiritual university" - Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidhyalaya in Rohini - and were not allowed to meet their parents.

The court had earlier asked the CBI to track down Dixit and directed the federal agency to probe the alleged illegal confinement of girls and women at the ashram.

The CBI had then assured the court that all efforts were being made to ascertain Dixit's whereabouts. Raids were carried out at his farmhouses and ashrams, and special teams were constituted to arrest him.

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