Virendra Dev Dixit ashram: Delhi High Court appoints Kiran Bedi to supervise committee formed to probe affairs

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday constituted a committee under the supervision of IPS officer Kiran Bedi to look into the affairs of the ashram of absconding godman Virendra Dev Dixit, where women were found to be living in inhumane conditions..A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla said that the committee is being constituted to ensure that no woman or child in the institution is subjected to any treatment which may tantamount to breach of their fundamental or other legal rights. The object of the committee, the Court said, is also to make sure that there is proper vigilance and scrutiny of the institution to ensure the welfare of vulnerable classes. The Court said that former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi has readily agreed to supervise the said committee..The members of the committee will also include the concerned district judge or his nominee, the local District Magistrate (DM), the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of the Crime against Women cell, Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, one nominee of the Delhi Commission for Women and a district officer of the Women and Child Development Department.While the district judge will be the Chairperson of the committee, the district officer of the Women and Child Development Department will be the Convener..During the hearing, Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Swati Maliwal, appearing in person, requested the Court to appoint another person to supervise the committee since Bedi had fought against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The Court rejected the request, saying that her inclination towards any political party does not take away her service to the society."Let us leave politics aside for some time. Please give some credit to her (Bedi) for her sense of the cause. Just because she has inclination towards one political party does not take away her service to the society," Justice Sanghi said..The Court also said that the committee shall be provided access to the institution to inspect its premises and to interact with the inmates freely on a regular basis. The records of the institution with respect to the inmates who have joined it from time to time shall also be made available for inspection. The committee can take the assistance of medical doctors, psychiatrists and other experts to make an assessment of the physical and mental well-being of the inmates at the institution, the Court ordered. The committee has been directed to submit its reports on a monthly basis. "At the same time, we make it clear that the institution shall be free to pursue its religious and spiritual activities, provided none of them infringe any fundamental or other right of any inmate or any other person," the order stated..The directions came in two petitions related to the condition of women living at Dixit’s ashram in Delhi’s Rohini area.Virendra Dev Dixit, initially an adherent of the Brahma Kumaris, later founded his own organisation named Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya. He has been accused of confining and sexually exploiting over 100 women at his ‘fortress-like ashram’ in Rohini.The godman and his ashram courted controversy in December 2018 when over 40 women were rescued from the premises by the Delhi Police. Since then, Dixit has been on the run. The case is now being dealt with by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)..Meanwhile, the Court also directed the Central and Delhi governments to look into the suggestions put forth by Maliwal regarding regulation and regular inspection of ashrams functioning in the national capital. It also said that the provisions of the Women's and Children's Licensing Act, 1956 and the rules framed thereunder apply to the institutions like ashrams, and therefore, the government should strictly enforce them. .The case will now be considered on May 27. .Women in godman Virendra Dev Dixit's ashram clearly indoctrinated; Court cannot be fooled: Delhi High Court.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.