Supreme Court pauses Madras HC order against Sadhguru, says 'army of police can't be allowed in the establishment'
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday paused a Madras High Court ruling directing Tamil Nadu police to investigate cases against spiritual leader Sadhguru's Isha Foundation. The top court took over the case and asked that the police produce a status report.
The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, was hearing Isha Foundation's petition against the High Court order, following which hundreds of police officers entered Isha Foundation's premises in Coimbatore on Tuesday.
The high court's decision came after retired professor S Kamaraj filed a plea claiming that his two daughters, Geeta and Lata, were "brainwashed" to live at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore. He said that the foundation prevented them from keeping contact with their family.
The Isha Foundation rejected the allegations, stating that the two women, aged 42 and 39, were willingly staying on the foundation's facilities. The two women were also brought before the High Court, where they confirmed this.
The Isha Foundation further stated that the petitioner and others tried to trespass on the premises under the guise of being members of a fact-finding committee.
Hearing the case, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud stated that a doctor at the Foundation's Ashram was recently accused of child abuse under the strict POCSO Act, and that the investigation must proceed. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Isha Foundation, stated that the reported incidents did not occur on its campus.
The Chief Justice then requested that the two women were online so that the bench, which included Justice JB Pardiwala, could interact with them. Rohatgi claimed they were.
The Chief Justice continued: "The first thing is that you cannot let an army of police in the establishment like this... what we will do is ask a judicial officer to visit the premises, and talk to these two inmates."
One of the women appeared before the court virtually and stated clearly that they were at the ashram willingly. She claimed that their father had been harassing them for the last eight years.
Noting that this was a habeas corpus petition, the Chief Justice stated, "We would like to hear both monks in the chamber and come back in five minutes."
- PTC NEWS
