Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation gets big relief from Supreme Court, case of ‘forcibly keeping girls’ dismissed
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The Supreme Court on Friday gave a big relief to Jaggi Vasudev (Sadhguru)’s Isha Foundation. The apex court dismissed the case going on against the foundation, in which a father had alleged that his two daughters were ‘brainwashed’ and made to join Sadhguru’s ashram in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and were deprived of contact with the family. In this case, a petition was filed claiming that his daughters were illegally held captive in the ashram. But, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice (CJI) DY Chandrachud said that both the daughters, Geeta and Lata, are adults and are living in the ashram of their own free will.
However, the court also clarified that this order is only for this particular case. Also, it said that recently a case of child abuse has been registered against a doctor of the ashram, which needs to be taken into consideration. On the allegations of ‘brainwashing’, the Supreme Court said that the Madras High Court had improperly intervened in this matter and ordered the police to investigate the ashram, which, according to the court, was improper.
The Supreme Court said that when the two girls were kept in the ashram, they were not minors. They were 27 and 24 years old. Therefore, there was no need for the intervention of the High Court. The purpose of the petition was accomplished even before the daughters appeared in the court. The Chief Justice said in oral remarks that such cases cannot be used to defame people and institutions.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court transferred the case going on in the Madras High Court to itself and stopped the police investigation, which was started after the allegations of the father. The father had alleged that his daughters were wrongly kept in Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s ashram. But the daughters themselves appeared before the court and said that they were living in the ashram of their own free will and their father had been harassing them for the last eight years. One daughter also said that her mother had also harassed her.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Isha Foundation, said that it was also clear in the status report of Tamil Nadu Police that both the women were living in the ashram voluntarily. The Supreme Court told the father that he cannot control the lives of his daughters and advised him to win their trust and not file petitions in courts.
Another petition filed by the police also said that many people associated with the foundation have gone missing. Apart from this, a case of sexual assault on children has been registered against a doctor working in the Isha Outreach Program. A woman from Delhi also filed a complaint of sexual assault on her during a yoga course in 2021, which was mentioned in this petition.
