Remove defamatory content about Isha Foundation: Delhi HC to Tamil magazine

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Tamil magazine Nakkheeran to take down content alleged to be defamatory against preacher Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation, according to Bar and Bench.

Justice Subramonium Prasad issued the interim order while declining the magazine’s plea that sought dismissal of the foundation’s case.

The court was hearing a defamation suit filed by the Isha Foundation, which claimed that the publication had carried allegations of misconduct and suggested that certain individuals were being held at its premises against their will.

The foundation argued that such reports were published despite the Supreme Court of India having closed proceedings in October 2024 in a habeas corpus petition related to similar claims. The plea had been filed by a man who alleged that his two daughters were being confined at the organisation’s centre in Coimbatore, Scroll.in reported.

In that case, the Supreme Court had observed that the women were adults and were residing at the foundation voluntarily, noting that the purpose of the petition had been fulfilled once they expressed their wish to stay there.

At the same time, the court clarified that closing the habeas corpus matter would not bar the police from pursuing any other investigations, if required.

Before the High Court, the Isha Foundation sought damages of ₹3 crore from the magazine and its editor over the allegedly defamatory material. Google was also named as a party in the case, as the content appeared in search results and the videos in question were hosted on YouTube.