'Black Magic Act Excludes Legitimate Religious Practices': Bombay HC Upholds Discharge Of Swami Accused Of Propagating Black Magic

Justice R.N. Laddha observed, “The Black Magic Act was enacted to curb harmful practices that posed serious risk to individuals and society, including human sacrifices, fraudulent rituals, and psychological exploitation; and explicitly excludes legitimate religious practices, the sharing of traditional knowledge, and cultural or artistic expressions.”

The Court was considering a petition against the order of discharge of the accused by the Magistrate and Sessions Court. As the prosecution, the informant attended an 8-day workshop of one Shivkrupanand Swami (accused) in 2013 in Pune. The accused was not physically present at the event and the event organisers informed that the accused would deliver a 2-hour discourse each day via a CD. The organisers claimed that the accused had blessed the CD and that his powers would manifest through the video recording. The prosecution stated that the CD was sold for Rs. 250 and that this action amounted to cheating the public and gaining monetary benefits.

Further, after the workshop, the informant was invited to join a 45-day course where he was given a mantra to chant to resolve all his troubles. It was alleged that after chanting the mantra, he started experiencing severe mental and physical distress, which even a medical professional could not alleviate. The informant also alleged that under the guise of discourse and meditation, the accused instilled fear in him by promoting and propagating disturbing practices like human sacrifice, other inhumane and aghori practices along with black magic, all advertised through the CD.

The accused was booked under Sections 3(1) and 3(2) (prevention and eradication of human sacrifice and other inhuman, evil and aghori practices and black magic), read with clauses (2) (fraud by propagation of so-called miracles) and (5) (fraud by creating fear of evil consequences) of the Schedule of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

In 2018, the accused applied for discharge under Section 239 CrPC. The Magistrate allowed the application The State then filed a revision before the Sessions Court, which upheld the Magistrate's order and dismissed the application. The State and the informant thus filed the present petitions.

Pursuing the facts of the case, the High Court noted that the informant had no direct interaction with the accused and that he voluntarily attended the seminars. It noted that there was nothing on record to prove that the accused was the publisher of the CD.

“Upon carefully evaluating the records, it becomes evident that the informant had no direct interaction with the accused and voluntarily attended the seminars where the alleged CD was played. It is undisputed that the accused did not organize these seminars. There is no material available on record to suggest that the accused was either the publisher of the CD in question or owner of the store from where it was purchased.”

The Court further noted that while the complaint was lodged in 2014, the informant only brought up the contents of the CD when providing a supplementary statement in 2016. It opined that this raised doubts about the credibility of the allegations.

Finding no substance in the allegations, the Court stated the Magistrate's order discharging the accused under Section 239 was proper. It also noted that the Magistrate and Sessions Court had "exercised their discretion judiciously and adhered to established legal principles".

With these observations, the Court dismissed the petition.

Case title: Rohan Vishwas Kulkarni vs. State of Maharashtra & Anr. (Criminal Writ Petition No. 2595 of 2023)

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Bom) 131