In a significant relief for spiritual leader Sadhguru, the Supreme Court has paused a Madras High Court order instructing the Tamil Nadu police to investigate cases against his Isha Foundation. The top court has taken over the case and requested the police to submit a status report.
The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, was reviewing the Isha Foundation’s challenge to the high court order after a large contingent of police entered its Coimbatore premises on Tuesday.
The high court’s order followed a petition from retired professor S. Kamaraj, who claimed that his daughters, Geeta and Lata, were “brainwashed” into staying at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore, allegedly preventing them from maintaining contact with their family.
The Isha Foundation has denied these allegations, asserting that the two women, aged 42 and 39, are residing at the center of their own volition. The women appeared in court and confirmed their willingness to stay at the ashram.
The foundation also alleged that the petitioner and others attempted to trespass under the guise of a fact-finding committee.
During the proceedings, Chief Justice Chandrachud mentioned that a doctor at the foundation’s ashram had recently been charged with child abuse under the stringent POCSO Act, emphasizing that the investigation must continue. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Isha Foundation, stated that the alleged incidents did not occur on the premises.
The Chief Justice proposed speaking with the two women directly and noted, “You cannot let an army of police into the establishment like this. We will arrange for a judicial officer to visit the premises and talk to these two individuals.”
One of the women appeared virtually in court, reiterating that their stay at the ashram was voluntary and claiming that their father had been harassing them for eight years.
As this is a habeas corpus petition, the Chief Justice expressed the desire to hear from both women in the chamber and said they would return in five minutes. The court later confirmed that the women had joined the ashram when they were 24 and 27 and have been living there willingly. It was also noted that their mother had filed a similar petition eight years ago.
