Sri Sri’s Art of Living Is in Contempt of Court: Petitioners

After weeks of hearings, petitioners say Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation is in contempt of court.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. (Photo: Reuters/ Altered by The Quint)

The Art of Living Foundation will have to respond to claims that it has acted in contempt of court, the National Green Tribunal decided on Tuesday.

It has been almost two months since the Art of Living Foundation launched its World Culture Festival and the organisation continues to dispute a 5 crore payment ordered by the National Green Tribunal for its controversial event.

Set-up for the event, which drew 3-5 lakh people, is said to have damaged more than 1000 acres of land by the Yamuna River, according to reports submitted to the National Green Tribunal. The reports say the Yamuna flood plane was flattened and trees were cleared to make space for the event, and may have caused irreparable damage to the zone.

The grand, World Culture Festival 2016 that took place on Yamuna floodplains (Photo: The Quint)

In a Times of India piece, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said the order was politically motivated. The statement is in contempt of court, petitioners said.

Lawyers for Art of Living contested the petition, saying that news articles could not be used as a basis for a contempt of court claim.

At the NGT proceedings today, it was specifically pointed out by The Art of Living lawyers that applications filed by Mr Anand Arya and Mr. Mishra were based merely on news paper reports and that the tribunal ought not to entertain the same. It was also clarified by The Art of Living that the allegations about Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the NGT was misconceived since the video of the speech was available with Art Of Living and demonstrate that the allegation was completely false. 

Bureau of Communication, Art of Living 

A second contempt of court application was filed by Anand Arya, a private citizen who says Art of Living continued to dump enzymes into the river after the National Green Tribunal ordered them to stop. Art of Living claims the enzyme cleans pollutants out of the river, but there is no scientific basis to back this claim.

The contempt of court filing was based on a set of news articles, Arya told The Quint. But Art of Living also contests these claims, saying no enzyme was put in the river following the court’s order.

A buffalo stands by the banks of the Yamuna, near the former site of the World Culture Festival. (Photo: Siddharth Safaya)

Justice Swatanter Kumar commented on the large quantity of applications filed by petitioners against the World Culture Festival and dismissed some of the claims.

The tribunal will hear Art of Living’s response to claims that it is in contempt of court on 25 May.