Supreme Court pauses police action against Sadhguru's Isha Foundation

The Supreme Court paused a Madras High Court order that permitted police action against spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation in Coimbatore.

In Short

• Supreme Court restrained cops from taking action against Isha Foundation
• Man claimed his 2 daughters were 'brainwashed' at yoga centre
• Supreme Court said man's daughters are living on their own will

The Supreme Court on Thursday paused a Madras High Court order that allowed police action against spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore and transferred the case to itself.

The Supreme Court's judgment came after the Isha Foundation approached the top court against a Madras High Court order, directing the Tamil Nadu government to submit details of all criminal cases registered against the foundation.

"Police shall not take any further action in pursuance of directions of the High Court's order. With reference to the said allegations, the Coimbatore Rural Police having jurisdiction shall conduct an enquiry and file a status report before this court," said a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court asked the bench to file a status report and submit it. The next hearing will take place on October 18.

The Supreme Court's order came on a plea filed by S Kamaraj, a retired professor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, who had alleged that his two daughters had been brainwashed and kept hostage in the yoga centre of Isha Foundation ashram.

CJI Chandrachud said he spoke to Kamaraj's daughters, who appeared in the hearing virtually, and said that they were living in the ashram on their own will.

Kamaraj had alleged in the plea that the Isha Foundation was brainwashing individuals, converting them into monks and preventing them from maintaining contact with their families.

Recently, a team of police officers conducted probes at Isha Foundation in Coimbatore following the Madras High Court's order.

While hearing Kamaraj's plea alleging his two daughters, aged 42 and 39 years, were being held against their will at the centre, the Madras High Court had raised questions about the practices at the foundation. The High Court questioned why Sadhguru had encouraged women to live as monks when his own daughter is married and settled.

The plea also mentioned several criminal cases pending against the foundation, including a recent case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a doctor associated with the Isha Yoga Centre.

The Isha Foundation issued a statement dismissing the allegations as baseless. "Isha Foundation was founded by Sadhguru to impart yoga and spirituality to people. We believe that adult individuals have the freedom and wisdom to choose their path," the statement read.

The foundation denied pressuring individuals into marriage or monkhood, asserting that these are personal choices.

"Whoever indulges in spreading false information against the foundation will be strictly dealt with as per the law of the land," it added.