(Image source from: x.com/SadhguruJV)
The Supreme Court dismissed the case against the Isha Foundation, where the father had claimed his two adult daughters were "brainwashed" into joining the spiritual leader Sadhguru's ashram in Tamil Nadu. The court ruled that the women were living in the ashram of their own free will, as they were both adults. The court also said the Madras High Court acted inappropriately when it ordered an inquiry into the habeas corpus petition, leading to a police raid on the ashram. The Supreme Court noted that since the daughters were not minors when they joined the ashram, the purpose of the habeas corpus petition was fulfilled when they appeared in the High Court, and no further action was needed.
The Supreme Court took over the case that was initially heard by the Madras High Court. The High Court had earlier ordered the police to investigate the father's allegations against the Isha Foundation. After the High Court's order, hundreds of police officers raided the Isha Foundation, prompting the Foundation to appeal to the Supreme Court against the police investigation inside the ashram. The High Court had also questioned the actions of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. The Isha Foundation denied the charges and stated that the two women, now aged 42 and 39, were willing residents of the ashram. The women appeared before the High Court and the Supreme Court, confirming the Foundation's statement. One of them also said that their father had been harassing them for eight years and their mother had similarly harassed them. The lawyer representing the Isha Foundation pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Police's report noted that the women were voluntarily residing at the ashram.
In lieu of filing formal requests, he was advised to earn the trust of his adult offspring through verbal interactions. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu Police had said in a counter-petition that many other people who had joined the foundation were missing. The petition also details a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act) case against doctors working in the Isha Development Program. It also mentioned a sexual harassment complaint by a woman in Delhi. The incident occurred when he attended a yoga class at the ashram in 2021.
