The court clarified that the closure of habeas corpus proceedings will not affect any other regulatory compliance which Isha Yoga Foundation has to meet.
Published Oct 18, 2024 | 1:26 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 18, 2024 | 1:26 PM
Supreme Court stays Madras High Court order against Isha Foundation
The Supreme Court on Friday, 18 October, closed the habeas corpus petition regarding the alleged illegal confinement of two women against Jaggi Vasudev also known as Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation.
The petition was filed by the father of two women alleging that they have been illegally confined in the foundation. The Supreme Court’s order comes after the Tamil Nadu police submitted a report on the pending cases against the Isha Foundation, in which the two women, aged 42 and 39 years have denied being confined against their will.
The bench comprised Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
The Supreme Court while pronouncing the order took exception to the Madras High Court passing directions for police enquiry on other allegations against Isha Yoga Centre.
According to Livelaw, the court noted: “Since both of them are adults and the purpose of habeas corpus was fulfilled, no further directions were needed from the High Court.”
The Bar and Bench further reported, “The jurisdiction of the court under Article 226 while dealing with habeas corpus is well defined and it would be unnecessary for this court to expand the ambit. We clarify this order will not come in the way of any investigations being carried out by the police,” the court said.
However, the court clarified that the closure of habeas corpus proceedings will not affect any other regulatory compliance which Isha Yoga Foundation has to meet.
ORDER
CJI: it is clarified that closure of habeas corpus proceedings will not affect any other regulatory compliance which isha yoga foundation has to meet. #ishayoga #sadhguru
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) October 18, 2024
The Court also orally instructed the counsel representing the foundation to ensure the requisite compliances.
“When you have women and minor children, there needs to be an internal complaints committee (ICC). The idea is not to malign an organisation but there are some requirements which has to be complied with Mr Rohatgi, you have to impress upon the institution that these have to be complied with,” the chief justice noted.
According to the police report, the two women informed that “they are living happily in Isha Yoga Centre in the path of monkhood and they requested their parents not to tell any lies about them and the institution in public and not to disturb their path. But the petitioner did not show ears to their requests and continued to humiliate them in public. But one woman had confirmed that she did not skip her meal and she was not in fasting until death. She confirmed that she told her sister to inform the petitioner that she would go fasting only to restrain him from making false statements in public about them and the path of monkhood in the institution.”
In their response, the police also have raised several alarming issues regarding the activities within the foundation’s premises.
One of the key concerns highlighted is the disappearance of numerous individuals who visited the Isha Foundation, with the police admitting they have been unable to trace these missing persons.
The petition also alleges that cremations are being conducted within the foundation’s grounds, raising further suspicions about the organization’s internal operations.
Additionally, the police have claimed that the Isha Foundation’s medical facility has been allegedly dispensing expired medications to patients.
The #TamilNadu police have submitted a counter-petition to the Supreme Court concerning the ongoing case involving the Isha Foundation. In their response, the police have raised several alarming issues regarding the activities within the foundation’s premises.
One of the key… pic.twitter.com/h1dhoADh4s
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) October 17, 2024
The other cases include a POCSO case against Dr Saravanamoorthy, who worked for Isha Outreach, for improperly touching young schoolgirls during regular check-ups; a rape case was filed by a Delhi woman stating that she was allegedly raped by another participant named Naveen who came to her room after she had taken sleeping pills; and a case of criminal intimidation under sections 341, 506 IPC and S.3 of the TNPPDL Act was filed against 15 members of the Isha Yoga Centre who threatened and damaged the complainant’s vehicle while attempting to verify charges of the Centre’s illegal encroachment on tribal territory covering 44.3 acres.
On 30 September, the Madras High Court sought the details of criminal cases against Isha Foundation while hearing a habeas corpus petition by a retired professor, S Kamaraj, who claimed his two daughters were illegally detained at the foundation.
Kamaraj submitted that his daughters, both post-graduates in engineering, went to learn yoga at the foundation and stayed back. He alleged that the young women were brainwashed into continuing at the foundation as hermitesses. They were not allowed to meet their parents or relatives, the court was told.
A bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and V Shivagnanam sought the details of criminal cases against the foundation after the petitioner’s counsel mentioned that a doctor attached to the centre was facing charges under the POCSO Act.
On 3 October, the Supreme Court transferred to itself the habeas corpus petition from the Madras High Court.
The Isha Foundation has a history of controversies, including allegations of illegal land encroachments and unauthorised constructions.
Recently, the scrutiny intensified after a doctor associated with the foundation was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The High Court’s initial inquiry into the foundation’s practices also highlighted apparent contradictions in Jaggi Vasudev’s teachings.
For instance, the court questioned the founder’s promotion of asceticism while arranging his daughter’s marriage, prompting discussions about hypocrisy in his messages.
In response to these allegations, the Isha Foundation has maintained that it promotes yoga and spirituality while respecting individual choices. “We do not ask people to get married or take up monkhood,” Isha Foundation previously told South First.
“Isha Foundation was founded by Sadguru to impart yoga and spirituality to people. We believe that adult individual human beings have the freedom and the wisdom to choose their path. We do not ask people to get married or take up monkhood as these are individual choices. Isha Yoga Centre is home to thousands who are not monks and a few who have taken Brahmacharya or Monk hood,” they said.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula, with inputs from Nitika Shivani)
