How govt is going to run Dhirendra Brahmachari’s Aparna Ashram

The Haryana Vidhan Sabha passed “The Aparna Institution (Taking Over of Management and Control) Bill, 2025” on Friday, despite an opposition from the Congress, which termed it “unconstitutional”.

Once the Bill becomes Act, the state government will take over the management, control and possession of yoga guru Dhirendra Brahmachari’s Aparna Institution at Silokhra village, Wazirabad tehsil, Gurugram. The institution sits on 24 acres and 16 marlas of prime property near Sector 30, Gurugram, and is valued at several crores.

Known for teaching yoga to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Brahmachari was also referred to as the ‘Flying Swami’. He registered a society, Aparna Ashram in 1973-74 with the Registrar of Societies, New Delhi, with the aim of “diffusion of useful knowledge of yoga among the masses through education, research, training and dissemination”.

He also established the Aparna Institution as a separate entity. Brahmachari purchased land at Silokhra village in the name of Aparna Ashram using donations, grants and financial assistance received from the Central Government.

The Haryana government issued a notification on January 30, 1989, stating that the land at Silokhra and Sukhrali villages would be acquired for public purposes, including the land and buildings of Aparna Ashram. Brahmachari filed objections before the Land Acquisition Collector, which were dismissed. He then filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1990 seeking to quash the notifications. However, he died in a plane crash on June 9, 1994. After his demise, the society split into two groups. These groups have been engaged in legal disputes for more than two decades, the Bill claims.

 How will the government run the Institution?

The government will appoint an Administrator to manage the institution on its behalf. Future appointments within the institution will require government approval. Additionally, the Bill states that the government will appoint a committee to assist the Administrator.

Among the aims and objectives of the institution, making yoga more popular through education, research, training and dissemination; facilitating practical courses and training in yoga; and eradicating “consuming LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and other spurious drugs and drinks” have been mentioned in the Bill. The government-controlled management will be allowed to “acquire, purchase, or otherwise own on lease or hire, temporarily or permanently, any movable or immovable property”.

Initially, the government’s control over the management will be for 10 years. But it may issue directions for the continuance of such management for such a period, not exceeding five years at a time, said the Bill.

The government can also cancel any contract or transfer, or lease related to the institution that was executed in bad faith, but an inquiry is required.

What are the offences and penalties under the Bill?

nder the Bill, any person who possesses any asset or property of the institution and wrongfully withholds it from the government-appointed Administrator will face punishment. Wilfully withholding or failing to deliver any books, papers, or other documents, or failing to furnish an inventory of the institution’s properties and assets, are also offences under the Bill. Any person committing these offences shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to five years, or with a fine that may extend to Rs 50,000, or with both.

 What is government justification for taking over the institution?

The Bill said for the past several years, internal disputes had been going on between the society and its members. “These groups are trying to illegally and unauthorisedly sell the aforesaid land and building of the institution against the aims and objects of the institution for their personal gains. There is every likelihood that the moveable and immovable properties of the Institution may get destroyed, which will frustrate the very purpose with which the institution was created,” added the Bill as the reason for taking over Aparna Ashram.

In 2020, some people sold the land of Aparna Institution to Delhi-based companies at a throwaway price of Rs 55 crore, whereas the actual price was much more. The Gurugram DC had then cancelled the sale deed.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday said the Bill did not violate any Central law. “The primary purpose of this Bill is to ensure that the land of the institution does not fall into the wrong hands and that its benefits continue to reach the people,” he added.