The Supreme Court on Friday expressed its displeasure with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) for its delayed response in challenging a Madras High Court decision that had previously quashed a showcause notice against the Isha Foundation. The notice was initially issued over constructions made by the foundation between 2006 and 2014.
During the proceedings, the bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, criticized the TNPCB’s two-year delay in filing the appeal and suggested that the petition seemed more like a “friendly match” among bureaucrats rather than a genuine attempt at justice. The justices implied that the board’s late petition was an attempt to obtain the Supreme Court’s approval for dismissing the case.
The discussion in court also addressed the current status of the structures built by Isha Foundation, which now house a yoga and meditation center in the Velliangiri area of Coimbatore district. The court emphasized the importance of ensuring environmental compliance for the existing facilities.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Isha Foundation, requested that the court schedule the next hearing after Shivratri, citing a major function planned by the foundation. The bench agreed to this and postponed the matter accordingly.
The legal contention began when the TNPCB issued a showcause notice to Isha Foundation, led by founder Jaggi Vasudev, questioning why legal action should not be initiated for the unauthorized construction of various buildings. The foundation successfully challenged this notice in the Madras High Court, leading to its quashing on December 14, 2022. The high court justified its decision by categorizing the foundation’s activities, which include imparting yoga lessons and running a school, under the ‘education’ category, thereby not necessitating prior environmental clearance as argued by the TNPCB.
