The Madras High Court on Monday recalled its order to quash a first information report accusing spiritual leader Siva Shankar of sexual harassment, reported PTI. Justice RN Manjula recalled her order passed on October 17 after the Tamil Nadu government moved the High Court against its decision.

Manjula had quashed the FIR citing a technical flaw. The court had said that though the allegations were serious in nature, the case had to be “barred by limitation” as the complainant had not filed the complaint within a prescribed time.

She had also said that the woman did not file an application before the magistrate to file the complaint after the stipulated period.

The FIR was registered last year after the woman filed a complaint alleging that she was sexually harassed by the spiritual leader in 2010-’11. The woman had alleged she was assaulted after she approached Shankar after her son was removed from a residential school run by him.

Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohammed Jinnah had told the High Court that the chargesheet had already been filed in the case when the High Court quashed the FIR, according to Bar and Bench.

At a previous hearing on October 28, Additional Public Prosecutor A Damodharan had argued that the complainant had not been informed about the FIR being quashed. Damodharan had also argued that several Supreme Court judgments have held that the limitation period of filing a complaint cannot not be the only ground for quashing an FIR.

In its petition, the government had said that complainant cannot be expected to be aware of a time period to file a complaint.

The government had also argued that Shankar’s case was an extraordinary one, as he was a repeat offender who had sexually harassed or assaulted at least six students at his residential school, and two parents of his students, including the complainant.