SC stays police action against Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation

The Supreme Court on Thursday halted the police probe into the alleged illegal confinement of two women at Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation in Coimbatore.

Not held captive: Petitioner’s Daughters

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• Madras HC ordered probe against Isha Foundation after a retired prof alleged his two daughters held captive there
• Foundation’s counsel told SC the two women were staying at the ashram on their own will
• SC Bench virtually interacted with them; one denied being held captive, other accused her father of harassment

Transferring to itself a habeas corpus petition of a man alleging that his two daughters were held captive by the foundation, a Bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud directed the Tamil Nadu Police to not take any further action in pursuance of the Madras High Court's direction asking it to inquire into the matter.

“You cannot let an army or police into an establishment like this,” the three-judge Bench said, staying the high court's September 30 order. "With reference to the said allegations, the police shall conduct an inquiry and file a status report before this court,” ordered the Bench, which included Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra.

The order came after senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter for an urgent hearing and pointed out that the HC chose to pass such an order on habeas corpus despite the two daughters (aged 42 and 39 years) of the petitioner categorically stating that they were at Isha Foundation on their own will.

Contending that hundreds of police officials raided the foundation's ashram and were probing every corner, Rohatgi urged the top court to stay the high court's order.

“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,” Rohatgi submitted. On behalf of the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta supported Isha Foundation's plea. “The HC should have been very circumspect. This needs your attention," Mehta told the Bench.

The Bench virtually interacted with two women whose father, Dr S Kamaraj, a retired professor from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, had filed a petition on which the Madras HC had passed the impugned order.

After interacting with Kamraj's daughters, the top court noted that the two women said they were there at foundation on their own volition and without any pressure. One of the women said she was being harassed by her father. One of them said she participated in a 10-km marathon recently. Transferring the case to the SC, the Bench asked the TN Police to submit its report before it and posted the matter for further hearing on October 18.