Sadhguru

Critics, including a CAG report concerning retrospective approvals, fuelled allegations for years that Isha's campus had encroached on forest land or an elephant corridor. In 2026 defamation proceedings, however, the Delhi High Court noted RTI responses and Forest Department reports indicating that certain claims about occupation of forest land, corridors or 44 acres of tribal land were false or unsubstantiated.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Sadhguru and Isha sued Nakkheeran magazine following a series of videos and articles accusing them, among other matters, of forest encroachment, land violations and other abuses. In March 2026, the Delhi High Court ordered eleven items removed, finding several claims contradicted by official records; in July, a further order targeted dozens more items.

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

The father of two adult women applied to court claiming that they were being held at the ashram and influenced against their will. Both women told the judges that they lived at Isha voluntarily and were free to come and go. The Supreme Court closed the habeas corpus proceedings and criticised the High Court's widening of the inquiry.

A public interest litigation petition challenged the collection of public contributions of 42 rupees per tree in the Cauvery Calling campaign, raising concerns about transparency and the scale of fundraising. The Karnataka High Court ultimately dismissed the petition and criticised its lack of sufficient grounds.

Legal status — source text

PIL_dismissed; court_found_no_basis_to_stop_project

In a lengthy address, Sadhguru broadly defended the Citizenship Amendment Act and criticised certain arguments advanced by opponents. Narendra Modi shared the video as part of his public campaign in favour of the law, giving Sadhguru a significant role in the communications debate.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Sadhguru circulated an experiment and claimed that food cooked during an eclipse would undergo an extremely rapid transformation, sometimes described as ageing by the equivalent of several weeks, and could become unsuitable or toxic.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

The Tamil Nadu government stated before the Madras High Court that several Isha Foundation buildings had been constructed without certain required permits. Sealing and demolition notices were issued in 2012; the foundation subsequently applied to regularise them and obtained approvals for some buildings.

State of the evidence

Documented

The TNPCB informed the court that all eight locations measured during Mahashivaratri celebrations exceeded applicable noise limits; one measurement reached 80.9 dB. The absence of consents under certain environmental laws was also raised.

State of the evidence

Documented

In lectures, including an address at IIT Madras, Sadhguru claimed that water possesses a form of memory and that the way a person treats, touches or looks at it can alter its qualities and effects on wellbeing.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Sadhguru claimed that very pure mercury could be solidified at room temperature through traditional yogic or alchemical processes and praised certain traditional uses of the metal. Scientists interviewed by Alt News recalled mercury's known physical properties and toxic risks.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Vijaykumari, Jaggi Vasudev's wife, died during a gathering at the ashram. Sadhguru maintained that she had voluntarily left her body through “mahasamadhi”. Her father filed a complaint suspecting unusual circumstances; police investigated and closed the case for insufficient physical evidence.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

complaint_investigated_and_closed_without_material_evidence_against_Sadhguru

Attribution

Spouse

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted