Currency case: Petition against Karmapa dismissed

Shimla, April 25 (IANS) A petition opposing the dropping of criminal charges against Tibetan religious head and the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, in a currency seizure case registered last year, was Wednesday rejected by the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

The division bench of Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice D.C. Chaudhary dismissed the petition moved by the Gangtok-based NGO Denzong Nang-Ten Sung-kyob Tsogpa.

The petition said some senior officers of the central government were trying to subvert the course of justice to illegally favour the Karmapa and were hurting the sentiments of the Buddhist community.

The Himachal Pradesh government Tuesday decided to drop a criminal case related to the seizure of Indian and foreign currency in January last year worth Rs.70 million from the Karmapa's monastery near Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

The Karmapa was charged under penal provisions for conspiracy.

Nine others who were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code would continue to face trial.

The 26-year-old Karmapa is the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four sects of Tibetan Buddhism. He joined the Dalai Lama in exile in 2000.