SC closes habeas corpus petition against Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation, says women living there without any coercion

The Supreme Court on Oct 18 closed proceedings in the habeas corpus petition by a retired professor who alleged that his two major daughters were being held captive at Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

The court said that the women had informed it that they were living at the Ashram “voluntarily and without any coercion.”

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and involving Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also noted that the Madras High Court exceeded its jurisdiction by keeping the matter alive even after recording the statements of the two women.

In its order, the court said, “The women had stated in the course of their interaction with this court that they are free to travel outside the ashram, which they have done from time to time. One of them has even participated in a marathon run extending to about 10 kilometers in Hyderabad. Also, their parents visit the Ashram periodically to meet them.”

The bench clarified that “the only aspect of the matter which had been dealt with appropriately in these proceedings pertains to the habeas corpus petition and this order will close the ambit of that.”

“We are today only concerned with an order which was passed by the High Court in a habeas corpus petition, where statements were recorded of the two corpus. At the end of that, the High Court should have closed the matter. Instead, the High Court proceeded. That exceeded the jurisdiction of the High Court,” Justice Pardiwala remarked.

Closing the proceedings, the court said, “It would be unnecessary for this court to expand upon the ambit of these proceedings, which arise from the habeas corpus petition before the High Court of Madras. Both individuals have attained the age of majority, and in fact, had done so when they first joined the ashram.”

“Once they have expressed their clear inclination, to continue at the Isha Yoga ashram in Coimbatore, the purpose of the habeas corpus petition is duly fulfilled, and no further directions were necessary by the High Court,” it added.

It also noted the Madras High Court had the “benefit of engaging with both the first respondent and his daughters in the course of the proceedings.”

“However, the order of the High Court did not specifically advert to what had transpired in the course of the interaction of the bench. This court had considered it appropriate to speak to the two individuals in respect of whom the habeas corpus petition was filed. Gita Kamaraj and Latha Kamaraj are presently of the age of 39 and 42. They had joined the ashram when they were 24 and 27 years old, respectively,” the bench said.

The bench also noted that in pursuance of the Madras High Court orders the Tamil Nadu police thoroughly probed the affairs of the Sadhguru ashram, and submitted its status report to it.

Jaggi Vasudev who has a huge fan following is popularly known as Sadghuru across India.

Pertinently, on Sep 30, a bench of Madras High Court Justices — SM Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam — directed the police to conduct an inquiry after hearing a petition filed by retired professor S Kamaraj.

The petitioner claimed that his two daughters were being held captive at the yoga center in the foundation. The foundation was brainwashing individuals, converting them into monks, and restricting their contact with their families, he alleged.