Bhagvad Gita row: Russian court suspends verdict till Dec 28

Moscow, Dec 20: A Russian court on Monday suspended its verdict till December 28 on the demand for banning Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, which a group linked to the Christian Orthodox Church has described as 'extremist'.

"The ruling has been postponed till December 28, as the lawyer of the local chapter of ISKCON requested the court to seek opinion of Russian ombudsman and experts from Moscow and St. Petersburg - the main centres of Indology in Russia", Sadhu Priya Das of ISKCON told PTI after the court in the Siberian city of Tomsk suspended its verdict.

Earlier, Russian ombudsman Vladimir Lukin in his statement had declared that "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" written by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a globally respected book, and it was unacceptable to seek a ban on it in Russia.

Meanwhile, at their emergency meeting last night here Hindus from India, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Nepal and other countries residing in Russia set up the Hindu Council of Russia to defend their interests.

Das has been elected its chairman.

"We have trust in the Russian judiciary and finally the truth will prevail," Das said.

Ironically, Tomsk is the home to the Imperial Energy, the Siberian subsidiary of India's ONGC Videsh Ltd, which has invested million of dollars in the region.

PTI