Who is Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati? The POCSO case controversy around the Jyotirmath Shankaracharya explained

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has been embroiled in a controversy after a special POCSO court in Uttar Pradesh ordered the police to file an FIR against him to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of boys. The court pronounced its decision after examining the evidence and recording the statements of the victimised 'batooks', the boys, as they are called at the ashram, Vidya Math. Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand, his disciple and three others have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Who is Swami Avimukteshwaranand?

Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati is the Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math (Joshimath) in Uttarakhand. He was made the new Shankaracharya after the death of Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati was born as Umashankar Upadhyay in Brahmanpur village, Patti tehsil, Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh in 1969. His early years were spent in a rural setting in Uttar Pradesh, where he completed primary education up to the sixth grade in the village school before family circumstances prompted relocation

He completed his education at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi, where he earned degrees in Shastri and Acharya. His active participation in student politics culminated in his victory in the 1994 student union elections, highlighting his leadership skills at a young age.


According to a report in Times Now, Swami Avimukteshwaranand took diksha from Swami Swaroopanand in 2006. Ever since, he had been supervising all religious and other activities of the Uttarakhand-based Jyotir Math. Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati oversees the religious and administrative activities of the Jyotirmath peetham in Joshimath.

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What are the allegations of Swami Avimukteshwaranand?

Swami Avimukteshwaranand has been at the centre of a fresh controversy after a special POCSO court in Prayagraj has ordered the police to register an FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and his disciple over sexual exploitation allegations. This directive follows a complaint filed by Ashutosh Brahmachari Maharaj.

According to the FIR, the seer and his disciple, along with two or three unidentified persons, subjected a minor and another youth to repeated sexual assault over the past year, including at a gurukul and during religious congregations such as the recently concluded Magh Mela in Prayagraj.

Reacting to the court order seer said, “Yes, it is appropriate. Only when a case is registered will the subsequent process of investigation and recording of testimony be completed. Only then will the truth of the false case filed against us come before everyone, and those responsible for doing this can be punished. Therefore, it is necessary. We would only say that the court should proceed with this at a faster pace without taking too much time, as many people are watching this matter. Testimony should be recorded and a decision taken as soon as possible. What is wrong will remain wrong, and the false case that has been filed will ultimately be proven false.”

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Dismissing sexual exploitation allegations against him and his camp, he said, "Those boys never entered our Gurukul, never studied, and we have nothing to do with them. They are students of a school in Hardoi, as evidenced by their marksheets submitted in the lawsuit. So, when they never came here, and have nothing to do with this place, how can anyone do anything to them?”

He further stated that his legal team had already conveyed this position to the court on Saturday. Speaking to news agency ANI, the religious leader alleged that the complainant, Ashutosh Brahmachari, has previously filed false cases against several individuals and is listed as a history-sheeter at the Kandhla police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district.

Swami Avimukteshwarananda has been in the headlines for his confrontation with the organisers of the Magh Mela in Prayagraj. He accused the administration he was prevented from bathing on Mauni Amavasya. Speaking to reporters in Varanasi, he said, “When I sat there for 11 days, no official asked me to take a dip. Now it is too late. I will go to the Magh Mela next year and take a respectful bath.”