Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has granted conditional bail on Wednesday to the rape accused Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru of the famous Murugha Mutt in Chitradurga district in connection with the sensational Lingayat mutt sex scandal.

The High Court Bench headed by Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar had restrained the accused seer from entering the premises of the mutt and also directed him to surrender the passport to the court. He has also been asked to provide two sureties.

The court also stated that he should appear before it through video conferencing.

However, sources say that despite the bail order, the release of the seer is doubtful as he is also facing rape charges in two other cases.

The bail petitions of the seer in these cases are still pending before the court.

The seer is facing charges under the Pocso Act, IPC sections, Atrocity Act, Juvenile Justice Act and Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act. He was arrested after a high drama on September 1, 2022 and he has been lodged in jail since then.