Prayagraj Magh Mela Authority issues notice to Swami Avimukteshwaranand

Prayagraj: The Prayagraj Mela Authority has issued a notice to Swami Avimukteshwaranand, directing him to submit proof within 24 hours that he is the Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth. The move comes amid an escalating dispute between the seer and the mela administration following an altercation over bathing arrangements on Mauni Amavasya.

Late on Monday night, officials attempted to serve the notice at the camp of Swami Avimukteshwaranand. Supporters, however, asked the revenue official who arrived with the notice to return in the morning, saying there was no authorised office-bearer present to formally receive it. The notice was later pasted outside the camp on Tuesday morning.

In the notice, the mela authority cited a Supreme Court order, stating that no formal coronation has taken place recognising anyone as the Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth. It said that displaying boards identifying himself as Shankaracharya amounted to a violation of the court’s directions. The administration has sought a reply within 24 hours.

The notice follows a major controversy during the Mauni Amavasya bathing ritual, when Swami Avimukteshwaranand was stopped from proceeding for the holy dip and was sent back to his camp without bathing. He has alleged that police personnel manhandled his disciples, beat them, and dragged them by their hair. On Monday, he presented some of his disciples before the media, claiming they were victims of police excesses.

Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference, Swami Avimukteshwaranand said he would not enter his ashram until the administration apologised. He declared that he would stay on the pavement instead of in a camp, asserting that historically Shankaracharyas have gone for ceremonial baths in a palanquin. He added that he would continue to come to Prayagraj for every mela but would not stay in a camp.

The seer also levelled serious allegations against the state administration, claiming that on the directions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath he was stopped from bathing at the Sangam, insulted, and that there was an attempt on his life. He alleged that policemen in plain clothes tried to abduct him, kept him at an undisclosed location for nearly five hours, and later dropped him outside his camp.

The mela administration has rejected these allegations, saying Swami Avimukteshwaranand was not given Shankaracharya protocol as he is not officially recognised as one. It said the notice has been issued precisely to seek documentary proof of his claim to the title.