The Government of India has apprised the Madras High Court that Isha Foundation, founded by Jaggi Vasudev, did not need prior environmental clearance for carrying out construction work between 2006 and 2014 at its premises in Coimbatore district.

The Bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Krishna Kumar were on Monday hearing a petition filed by Jaggi Vasudev, popularly known as Sadhguru, challenging the notice issued by the Tamil Nadu government to the foundation in January this year.

The state government, while taking note of the fact that the foundation had not taken the mandatory environmental clearance under the Union government’s Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 2006 for construction work in the Ashram’s area, had initiated prosecution against it.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan contended that the 2014 Environment Protection Amendment Rules of the Union Government granted exemption from such clearance to educational institutes, industrial sheds and hospitals.

Isha Foundation could claim such exemption on the grounds of being an institute promoting education, added Sankaranarayanan.

The petition by Sadhguru contended that the 2014 Environment Protection Amendment Rules were an extension of the 2006 Rules and were added to clarify that educational institutes, industrial sheds, hostels and hospitals, could avail the exemption.

Terming the Tamil Nadu government’s action as illegal, the plea stated that the 2014 amendment granted retrospective exemption to educational institutes.

The foundation has been carrying out construction work at its premises since 1994, much before the above Rules were introduced, it added.

Earlier, Advocate General of Tamil Nadu R Shunmugasundaram, had argued that while Tamil Nadu had already initiated proceedings against Isha Foundation, it was for the Centre to clarify on the issue of exemption.

The Bench had initially questioned the rationale behind such exemption granted by the Central government, but midway during the hearing, it changed its mind.

Justice Raja said that if such exemption was not granted to educational institutes, then prestigious institutes such as the Kodaikanal International School and Doon School would not have existed.

ASG Sankaranarayanan seconded Justice Raja and said the purpose of exemption was to prevent ‘harassment’ and strike a balance.

Senior Advocate Satish Parasaran, representing Isha Foundation, stated that Isha was a volunteer-run registered public charitable trust, founded in 1992. It said it had set up the Isha Yoga Centre in over 48.3 hectares of Velliangiri hills at Coimbatore district in 1994 to run a group of educational institutions.

 
He further said that a variety of courses on yoga, classical arts and Sanskrit were taught through a Gurukul format in the trust. The foundation also began imparting English-medium education, affiliated to the ICSE Board, added the lawyer. 

The next hearing in the case will be on September 28.

Case title: Isha Foundation vs Union of India and Others

Founder of Isha Foundation and Spiritual leader, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has filed a PIL on Friday at the Madras High Court seeking direction to be issued to conduct an external audit of the temples in Tamil Nadu.

In the PIL it was sought for the constitution of a commission to examine devolution of shrines to the community and the formation of a committee which would manage temples, its rituals and practices and to examine devolution of the temples to the community.

Sadhguru has further sought the audit of 44,000 temples in the state under Human Resources and Civil Engineering department to ascertain the condition of all their structures, associated lands and immovable assets, status of possession and occupation of the temple properties, the rents received and the dues, among others.

Isha Foundation’s move to the Madras HC came after spiritual leader Sadhguru repeated requests to the government on conducting audit of temples in the state were not heard.

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Sadhguru’s ‘Free Tamil Nadu Temples’ campaign was started after the state government presented a report in the Madras High Court on the sorry state of the temples of the state. Through this campaign, Sadhguru intends to put forward his views of liberating the temples of Tamil Nadu from the government so they can be run independently while having periodic external audits over the functioning of the temples

The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the state government to make a statement if it was willing to constitute an inquiry whether any money was collected by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation or Isha Outreach in a Cauvery Calling project.

The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty passed this order. The Court said that Cauvery Calling is a project of Isha Foundation and that it was not a project of Karnataka government. The state government is not funding this project nor providing government land/private land for the project.

“Now are you willing to hold an inquiry to ascertain whether any money was collected by projecting that this is a project of the Government of Karnataka? Are you willing to hold an inquiry,” 

-the bench asked.

The clarification was issued by the state government after the Court passed repeated directions to make its stand very clear on the question whether the state government has any connection with the project of Cauvery Calling and whether the second and third respondents (Isha Foundation) are involved in the said state government project.

The Advocate appearing for Isha Foundation submitted a memo stating that it has published on its website a statement saying that the Cauvery Calling project is an initiative of Isha Outreach.

The government counsel replied that the state has issued the clarification that it is not a project of the State government.

“Now you have done it…when the State Government after so many orders passed has taken a stand, they (Respondents) also have taken a stand belatedly that the project is not of the state government. Now you make a statement and put an end to the petition. Appoint an officer and hold an inquiry whether at any stage either by respondent 2 or respondent 3 collected money by projecting it as a project of the state government,”

-the bench said.

The statement published on the website reads thus:

“The Cauvery Calling project is an initiative by Isha Outreach. It is not a project by the Government of Karnataka. It is also clarified that the saplings planted as a part of the Cauvery Calling project are planted in the lands belonging to farmers and not in Government lands.”

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The direction was given during the hearing of a petition filed by Advocate A.V. Amarnathan in 2019. As per the petition, the Foundation is planning to plant 253 crore saplings across the 639-km stretch of Cauvery river bank from its birth place Talacauvery to Thiruvarur. The Foundation is said to be collecting Rs 42 per tree planting from the public. That means it is collecting a whopping sum of Rs 42 X 253 crore, a projected total of Rs 10,626 crore, which, according to the petitioner, is a major scam.

The Court has directed the registry to record the affidavit filed by the state government giving the clarification and posted the matter for further hearing on March 24.

New Delhi (ILNS): Spiritual baba Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev and his Isha Foundation have been collecting an incredible amount of funds for planting trees along the banks of the Cauvery river. The Karnataka High Court has taken up this case suo motu, after removing the original petitioner and today appointed advocate B V Vidyulatha as amicus curiae.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty has fixed November 23 as the next date of hearing.

The original petitioner against this project had filed this as a Public Interest Litigation, but the court later found that the petitioner had sent a legal notice to Discovery Channel, asking it to not cover this project. The court said this no more remains a public interest matter and removed the petitioner.

The baba calls this act the Cauvery Calling Project and is asking for Rs 42 for each of the 253 crore tree saplings that it wants to plant along the 639 km stretch of the Cauvery (on the banks) from its birthplace in Talacauvery to Thiruvarur. The money is being collected from the public.

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On January 7, the Court had asked the foundation to submit the details of the amount collected in the name of the Cauvery Calling Project.

-India Legal Bureau

The High Court of Karnataka has today asked the State Government to explain how after accepting the proposal of Isha Foundation to implement the Cauvery Calling project, it is allowing Isha Outreach to claim it as its project.

While hearing a petition against Cauvery calling project of Isha Foundation, the Court asked the Government if they are prepared to issue a notification that Isha Foundation or anybody else will not collect funds from anyone in the name of Cauvery calling project.

Chief Justice Abhay Okay stated that the the situation seems like a clear coverup and the State government should not get influenced by the fact that some influential people are involved in this project

The counsel on behalf of the State, Vijaykumar Patil informed the court that the proposal of Isha Foundation that was submitted to the state was not accepted by the government, and the State had accepted the proposal of Department of Forest.

The Court objected the statement of the State Counsel since it was in complete contradiction to the State’s submission made in the Statement of Objection that was filed. According to the Statement of objection filed by the State, the draft project proposal of Isha Foundation was deliberated and discussed and the government had made proposal to Department of Forest to take up the project.

The Court has allowed impleadment application filed by Isha Foundation and has directed the petitioner AV Amarnath to implead Isha outreach as respondent, as it is the entity which is implementing the project

The Karnataka High Court had in January this year, directed the Isha Foundation, led by Jaggi Vasudev (Sadghuru), to disclose details of money collected for the Cauvery Calling project and also the manner in which it was collected, stating that even spiritual organisations are bound by law.

The Court had also expressed displeasure regarding no specification of name of the authorised signatory and if the collection of funds was voluntary or not in the statement of objections that was filed by the foundation. When the foundation’s counsel had contended that the foundation was only creating awareness among public, especially farmers, about the environment through the project, the Court had stated that even though the cause was good, people cannot be forced to pay money. The bench had also questioned the Foundation regarding why there was no enquiry about the money being collected by the foundation.

Isha Foundation had then filed a memo   before the Karnataka High Court stating that it was not dealing with or managing the Cauvery Calling project. It also added that the Cauvery Calling Project which was subject of the writ petition was entirely being looked after and managed by Isha Outreach which is an independent entity and should be impleaded as an additional respondent.

-India Legal Bureau