The petition claimed that the Isha Foundation was planting saplings on government land as part of the project and collecting money from the public for the same.
On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court ruled that an investigation might be necessary to determine whether the Isha Foundation of Jaggi Vasudev collected public funding by projecting the “Cauvery Calling” project as a government venture.
After Isha Outreach informed the Court that it had put out a clarification on its website stating that Cauvery Calling is not a government project, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice SS Magadum made this remark.
“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.”
However, the Bench was not fully satisfied with the same statement that the clarification on the website was not prominently visible.
See how the website publishes it. It has to be more prominent, “See how it is published on the website. It must be more prominent,”
The Court heard a plea seeking directions from the Isha Foundation of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev not to collect funds from the public for its Cauvery Calling project.
The project includes steps to revitalize the rivers that have dried up.
The petition claimed that the Isha Foundation was planting saplings on government land as part of the project and collecting money from the public for the same. The plea raised the issue of allowing the government to use its land for the planting of saplings by a private organization, without studying the pros and cons of the project.
“The petitioner further argued that as Isha Foundation is expected to collect a massive fund of 10,626 crores as a donation, the “collection of money from the public is disturbing.
The lawyer appearing for the state government requested more time during the hearing on Tuesday to document its position on the Cauvery calling project.
The next hearing of the matter will be on 8th of March.
