Supreme Court Restrains Police Action In Sadhguru's Isha Foundation Case; Deets Inside

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

Supreme Court Pauses Police Action:

The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, was hearing Isha Foundation's challenge against the high court order after hundreds of cops entered its premises in Coimbatore Tuesday.

Here's What the Supreme Court Said:

Hearing the matter, the Supreme Court bench said, "At this stage, we are of the view that the end of justice would require the following order. HCP number 2,487 of 2,024 shall stand transferred from the file of the High Court of Judicature at Madras to this court. We permit the first respondent, who is the original petitioner before the HC, to appear through the video conferencing platform if he wishes to interact with the court in person or through counsel either on the same platform or physically as he may desire."

The Chief Justice then asked if the two women were online so that the bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala, could speak to them. Mr Rohatgi said they were.

"You Cannot Let An Army Of Police..."

The Chief Justice then added, "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 reiterated that they were staying at the ashram willingly. She alleged that their father had been harassing them for the past eight years.

The Chief Justice later said the women had told them that they joined the Ashram when they were 24 and 27, respectively, and were living there willingly. The court also noted that the mother of the two women had filed a similar petition eight years back. The Supreme Court has asked the petitioner to now appear before it. 

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About the Case:

The high court's probe order had come after retired professor S Kamaraj filed a petition, alleging that his daughters Geeta and Lata were "brainwashed to reside at Isha Yoga Centre" in Coimbatore. He alleged that the foundation did not allow them to maintain contact with their family.