Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday dismissed the charge that political or personal motives were behind the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati.
The arrest, Jayalalithaa said, was one of the "most painful decisions" of her political career.
"All such allegations of political motives or personal motives deserve to be dismissed with utmost contempt," she told reporters in New Delhi.
Jayalalithaa, who is visiting the capital for a meeting with the Planning Commission, rubbished charges that the arrest was aimed at pre-empting a proposed Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam agitation on the issue of Sankararaman's murder.
"Everyone is equal before the law. When the trial takes place, the truth will come out," she said. "It was not a decision I took happily, as this was not the decision I wanted to take. But circumstances compelled me to do my duty. I am doing my duty," she said.