The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the activities of controversial godman, Kalki Bhagwan alias V. Vijayakumar.
Activist Vishwanath Swami had filed a special leave petition (SLP) asking for a CBI investigation into Vijayakumar's accumulation of assets up to Rs. 3 billion.
A two judge bench of Justices Ruma Pal and P. Venkatarama Reddi dismissed without hearing the petition from Swami, who was challenging a judgement of the Madras High Court rejecting his plea for a probe into Kalki Bhagwan's "illegal" and "fraudulent" activities.
In his petition, Swami had submitted that Vijayakumar, from an agricultural family, had joined as a clerk in the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in 1971. Detailing his career graph, the petition said that in 1984 he started a school in Rajupeta village in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district.
Three years later, he resigned from his LIC job. And then, in 1989 he suddenly declared himself as the 10th avatar of Lord Vishnu "Kalki Bhagwan" and began to spread miracle stories involving him.
In 1990, Vijayakumar reportedly floated 13 religious and "rural service trusts" and started collecting funds and donations. In 1997, Frontline magazine published an article exposing Kalki Bhagwan and his cult, the petitioner stated.
Swami further submitted that he had collected documentary evidence to show that Vijayakumar was not doing any rural service as claimed.
He alleged that the entire money collected had been given to Vijayakumar's son and other family members. Nine private limited companies in and around Chennai were floated, nine bungalows were constructed, 43 cars were purchased and Vijayakumar's assets crossed Rs.3 billion.
The petitioner said he sent several written representations to various authorities like the income tax department, the CBI and the Tamil Nadu Police but no action was taken.
But the Madras High Court dismissed his writ petition seeking a probe.