“Investigation Underway, Have Traced Most Of Those Who Went Missing From Sadhguru's Isha Foundation”: State Tells Madras HC

The bench of Justice MS Ramesh and Justice Sunder Mohan was hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by Thirumalai of Tirunelveli District to produce the body of his brother Ganesan.

In the previous hearing, the Additional Public Prosecutor had orally informed the court that since 2016, six people had gone missing from Isha Foundation.

On Thursday, when asked about the details of the investigation with respect to the earlier submission, the APP informed the court that the investigation was underway and 5 out of the 6 missing persons had been traced. The court was further informed that the remaining person to be traced was the petitioner's brother and 36 witnesses had already been examined including officials from Isha Foundation. The state requested for further time to complete the investigation and for filing the final report.

Considering the state's request and the fact that the petitioner's counsel was unavailable, the court adjourned the case to 7th June.

Background

Thirumalai had approached the court after his brother Ganesan went missing in March of 2023. Thirumalai informed the court that his brother was doing charity work at Isha Yoga Centre and on March 2nd, 2023, when he contacted the Yoga Centre to check whether his brother was at the centre, he was informed that Ganesan had not come to the centre for 2 days.

He added that though a police complaint was registered based on the complaint by one Dinesh, in charge of the yoga centre, the police have not taken any action and have been behaving in a lethargic manner. Thus, left with no other alternatives, Tirumalai approached the court with a habeas corpus plea.

Case Title: Thirumalai v Superintendent of Police

Case No: HCP 529 of 2024