Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to controversial self-styled godwoman Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa in an alleged dowry abetment case.
Granting bail, Justice Revati Mohite-Dere directed Radhe Maa to be present before the Kandivali Police as and when required.
On August 14, the high court had granted Radhe Maa interim protection from arrest for two weeks after hearing her plea.
Apprehending arrest, she had moved the high court after the Sessions Court rejected her anticipatory bail plea on August 13.
The Kandivali Police lodged a case against Radhe Maa on August 5 for allegedly instigating the in-laws of a Mumbai housewife in a dowry harassment matter.
The police case followed an order by the Borivali Court to probe the matter following the complaint filed by the housewife.
In her plea, Radhe Maa denied all allegations levelled by the housewife-complainant, claiming she had never instigated the victim’s family and she was being dragged into the family matter as her (the complainant) relatives were her (Radhe Maa’s) devotees.
The complainant’s lawyer Girish Kulkarni has contended before the court that Radhe Maa’s family members were disciples of the godwoman who wielded complete control over them and also instigated them to demand dowry from the victim.
On Thursday, Radhe Maa’s counsel Abad Ponda argued that all six accused in the dowry case, except Radhe Maa, were granted protection by the trial court.
Ponda further contended that the allegations against Radhe Maa were an “afterthought” which was never made during the proceedings before the Family Court filed two years ago.
Radhe Maa claimed that the allegations were levelled against her in a bid to get a favourable order from the family court by the complainant.
