On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court denied Jyotir Peeth Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati’s request for interim relief in his defamation case against Swami Govindananda Saraswati. The suit alleges that Swami Govindananda labeled him a "fake baba" and accused him of receiving backing from the Congress party.

Justice Navin Chawla stated,

"These are in bad taste. I think he is just frustrated, but I don't think there is any defamation," the Court said.

Addressing Avimukteshwaranand's counsel, the judge said,

"You are a saint. Why are you worried about this? Saints should not be worried about all of this. They can’t be defamed by any of this. Saints command respect through their own deeds."

The remarks followed Avimukteshwaranand's lawyer's assertion that Govindananda had referred to his client as "farzi baba," "dhongi baba," and "chor baba."

"He is saying I am kidnapping people, that I am a history sheeter. He is saying I stole ₹7,000 crore worth of gold and that I have illicit relationships with sadhvis...He says there are criminal cases against me. There was one case that Akhilesh Yadav government filed against me, but that was withdrawn by the Yogi Adityanath government," the counsel said.

However, the Court deemed it inappropriate to grant an injunction at this stage. It issued a notice to the defendants regarding the interim relief application and scheduled the case for further consideration on August 29.

Avimukteshwaranand has filed a defamation suit against Govindananda and several news platforms. According to reports, Govindananda held a press conference on July 21, making various allegations against Avimukteshwaranand. He accused him of being a “fake baba” with support from the Congress party and claimed that a non-bailable warrant had been issued against Avimukteshwaranand by a Varanasi court, declaring him an absconder.

Avimukteshwaranand is recognized as the Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, a title given to the heads of monasteries in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. His coronation has been stayed by the Supreme Court. He recently attracted media attention by questioning the recent inauguration of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.