The stay comes a week after the court refused to stay the probe or pass any protective order in favour of him.
Published Jan 14, 2026 | 1:56 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 14, 2026 | 1:56 PM
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. (Facebook)
Synopsis: The Karnataka High Court stayed further investigation against Art of Living Foundation head Sri Sri Ravishankar, who is named as an accused in an FIR over alleged encroachment of public lands in Bengaluru, until 21 January. The stay comes a week after the court refused to stay the probe or pass any protective order in favour of him.
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, 14 January, stayed further investigation against Art of Living Foundation head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who is named as an accused in an FIR over alleged encroachment of public lands in Bengaluru, until 21 January.
The stay comes a week after the court refused to stay the probe or pass any protective order in favour of him.
In its order, Justice M Nagaprasanna noted, “A perusal of the complaint would prima facie indicate no allegations against this petitioner.”
He said that the petitioner cannot be drawn into the web of crime without any allegations, unless the Special Public Prosecutor would place on record something to indicate that the petitioner is directly involved in certain acts, on the next date of hearing (21 January).
The FIR against Ravi Shankar is tied to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed in 2023 by Chandra Sekaran N and others, which sought the demolition of some structures, allegedly built by encroaching on government land in Kaggalipura village in Bengaluru South Taluk.
Ravi Shankar was allegedly involved in the land encroachment, who maintained that he did not own any land in the said area and that he was made a party to the case for ulterior motives.
The court closed the 2023 PIL in September last year by directing the state to take action against any encroachers in accordance with the law.
Ravi Shankar’s counsel highlighted that even in a memo filed by the state’s counsel in the said PIL, his name did not feature in the list of alleged encroachers. Similarly, it was submitted that Ravi Shankar has not been named in related proceedings initiated by a Land Grabbing Court in 2024.
However, on 19 September, the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) registered an FIR suo motu, in which Ravi Shankar was among those accused of land encroachment in Kaggalipura village. Shankar’s plea has urged the Court to quash this FIR.
(With inputs from Anisha Reddy.)
