The Supreme Court on Friday disposed of a petition against Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation which alleged that two women were being held captive in the Isha Yoga Centre and being brainwashed to reside there.
The apex court took note of the statements by the two women– aged 39 years and 42 years– that they are voluntarily residing in an Ashram and free to move out of the Ashram.
“Since they are adults and the purpose of habeas corpus was fulfilled, no further directions were needed from the High Court,” the bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.
“These proceedings cannot be to malign people and malign institutions,” CJI Chandrachud said.
The Supreme Court said it is clarified that the closure of habeas corpus proceedings will not affect any other regulatory compliance which Isha Yoga Centre has to meet.
The top court observed that when there are women and minors in an institution, there needs to be an internal complaint committee. The idea is not to malign an organisation but there are some requirements which have to be complied with, the apex court said during the hearing.
What SC Said During the Previous Hearing
The Supreme Court on October 3 restrained the Tamil Nadu police from taking any action against the Isha Yoga Centre run by spiritual leader Sadhguru at Coimbatore.
The apex court passed the stay order after the foundation approached the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court order directing the Tamil Nadu government to submit details of all criminal cases registered against them.
The Supreme Court transferred to itself the petition pending before the Madras High Court and further asked the Police to submit the status report to it. The matter was posted for hearing on October 18.
It came after the Coimbatore Rural Police stormed into the Isha Foundation’s ashram with 150 personnel to conduct an investigation following the Madras High Court’s direction seeking a report on all criminal cases registered against the Foundation and ordered a probe.
What Was The Case Against Isha Foundation?
The Madras High Court ordered the probe after a retired professor S Kamaraj filed a petition, alleging that his daughters Geeta and Lata were “brainwashed to reside at Isha Yoga Centre” in Coimbatore. He further accused the foundation of not allowing them to maintain contact with the family.
During the hearing, the High Court expressed serious doubts about why Sadhguru had given his daughter in marriage and made her settle well in life but was encouraging other women to renounce their material life.
“We want to know why a person who had given his daughter in marriage and made her settle well in life is encouraging the daughters of others to tonsure their heads and live the life of a hermitess. That is the doubt,” the Bench remarked. It further ordered a probe against the foundation.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court bench and said, “These are issues of religious freedom. This is a very urgent and serious case. This is about Isha Foundation, there is Sadhguru who is very revered and has lakhs of followers. High Court cannot start such enquiries on oral assertions.”
The apex court delivered the stay order restraining police action against the foundation after interacting with the two women who cleared that they were residing in the ashram of their own free will and that nobody was detaining them.
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