CHANDIGARH, Punjab— Punjab, and Haryana High Court, have declined two petitions for conducting Noormahal based controversial cult head Ashutosh’s post-mortem examination, and for directions to the state to take over his properties.
A division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul refused to entertain the petition urging the court to direct the State of Punjab to “immediately” take over the property, and assets, belonging to the cult named “Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan”. The Bench made it clear that intervention was not called for as it was not “public money”.
Justice MMS Bedi refused to issue directions for a post-mortem examination. He told the Ashutosh’s former driver, Puran Singh, that he could approach the police for a remedy, if he felt that the Ashutosh had died an unnatural death.
Mohinder Pal Singh, and co-petitioner Dinesh Chander, had earlier alleged that cult “managers” were keeping the body of Ashutosh in a freezer to gain time for misappropriating cult properties worth Rs. 1000 crore.
Puran Singh had contended that Ashutosh was clinically dead as per the status report of Punjab Government, and doctor’s certificate. He had said that Ashutosh’s sudden death, allegedly because of cardiac arrest, raised suspicion.
