News Brief
Relief For Sadhguru As Supreme Court Closes Proceedings Against Isha Foundation In Illegal Confinement Case
Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
The Supreme Court on Friday (18 October) cancelled all legal proceedings against the Isha Foundation following accusations by a father that his daughters were "brainwashed" into joining the ashram of Sadhguru in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and were not allowed any family contact.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, dismissed the petition which alleged unlawful detention of the women, stating that both Geeta and Lata were adults residing at the ashram of their "own free will."
The court, however, clarified that the order applied only to this specific case.
The Supreme Court said the Madras High Court, which had ordered an inquiry into the habeas corpus petition after which police raided the ashram, acted in a "completely inappropriate" manner.
The Apex Court noted that both women were adults—aged 27 and 24 when they joined the ashram—and since they had appeared before the High Court, there was no further need for directions in the habeas corpus petition.
Proceedings such as this could not be used to "malign people and institutions", the Chief Justice said in oral remarks on this case, according to legal news website Live Law.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court transferred the case from the Madras High Court to itself and halted an order directing police to investigate the father's allegations.
The Isha Foundation has consistently denied the accusations, stating that the women, now aged 42 and 39, were voluntarily residing at the ashram.
Both women confirmed this before the High Court, with one also appearing before the Supreme Court via video link.
She told the court her sister and she were willing residents and that their father had been harassing them for eight years. She also said their mother had similarly harassed them.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Isha Foundation, highlighted that the status report by Tamil Nadu Police confirmed that the women were voluntarily staying at the ashram.
The court also spoke to the father and pointed out he could not "control" the lives of his grown children. In oral observations, he was told to "win their confidence" instead of filing petitions.
