Chinmayanand appears before Lucknow court, next hearing on Mar 4

Former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand, who is out on bail in a case in which he is accused of sexually abusing a law student, appeared before a special MP/MLA court here on Wednesday.

Judge P K Rai fixed March 4 as the next date of hearing for the framing of charges.

The court also issued a non-bailable warrant against the woman student for not appearing before it in another case of extortion lodged by advocate Om Singh with the Shahjahanpur police.

As the matter was set for framing of charges, the court observed that because of the woman student's absence, the charges could not be framed.

Chinmayanand, 72, was released from the Shahjahanpur district jail after the Allahabad High Court granted him bail.

While granting him bail, Justice Rahul Chaturvedi also transferred Chinmayanand's trial from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow, taking note of the victim's apprehension that he could influence proceedings in his hometown.

"The trial court will take up the case on a priority basis, preferably .