Uttarakhand High Court on Friday stayed the arrest of yoga guru Ramdev’s close aide Balkrishna, charged with procuring fake educational certificates, and asked him to appear before the CBI on August 3.
Justice Tarun Agrawal also asked the probe agency to file a reply to the court on Balkrishna’s petition within three weeks, his lawyer Rajendra Dobhal said.
The court, while hearing a plea seeking stay on the arrest, asked the accused to cooperate with the CBI in investigations and appear before it on August 3. Balkrishna is facing charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy for procuring fake educational degrees and using them in getting a passport.The petition for stay on the arrest of Balkrishna was placed before Justice P C Pant yesterday. However, he recused himself and referred it to Chief Justice Barin Ghosh.
Earlier, Ramdev’s aide made two pleas to CBI seeking 10-20 days time to appear before it, which were rejected by the investigating agency.
However, with today’s court order, the pleas by Balkrishna have become infructuous as the judge asked him to appear before the agency on August 3.
The next date of hearing has been fixed on August 29, advocate Dobhal said.
Balkrishna was earlier summoned by the CBI to appear in its office at Dehra Dun on Thursday for interrogation. However, instead of appearing before the agency, he had sent a fax to the agency seeking 20-days’ time to appear stating that his passport is with the British High Commission.
But, the agency turned down his plea and asked him to appear without passport on Friday. Balkrishna again requested the CBI to give him 10 days time.
Balkrishna had gone “missing” from his Divya Yog Mandir Ashram residence in Haridwar on July 25, a day after CBI registered a case against him for cheating and criminal conspiracy for procuring fake degree and violation of section 12 of Indian Passport act for furnishing fake documents to get a passport.
Ramdev, however, in a press conference on Thursday evening claimed that his aide’s degrees are genuine and that he is in Patanjali Ashram.