A local court in Karnataka’s Chitradurga on Wednesday, November 26, acquitted Shivamurthy Murugha Sharana, the seer of the Murugha Mutt, in the first of two sexual assault cases filed against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The mutt is regarded as one of the three most influential institutions of the Lingayat community in Karnataka state.