The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday for alleged contempt and violation of court orders with regard to the World Cultural Festival, which was organised on the Yamuna floodplains in March.
A petition filed by Manoj Misra of Yamuna Bachao Andolan contended that the founder of the Art of Living Foundation had flouted court orders by terming the Rs. 5 crore environment penalty imposed on him “politically motivated”.
“The applicant came across news articles in the last few days wherein the chairman of the Art of Living has given a statement saying that the NGT’s decision to fine the Foundation Rs.5 crore for allegedly causing environmental damage was politically motivated,” Mr. Misra said in his application filed through his counsel Sanjay Parikh.
Listing the matter for May 25, the Principal Bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar sought a reply within two weeks from the Foundation.
The counsel for the Foundation, meanwhile, asserted that no such statement was ever made and that “media reports without direct evidence cannot be sustained in court”.
The green bench also issued notice to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar against the application of environmentalist Anand Arya, who has accused him of “wilfully disregarding and violating the NGT order passed on March 9 by releasing enzymes into the river Yamuna”.
In his application, Mr. Arya has referred to a verdict passed by the NGT where it had “prohibited any person from throwing pooja material or any other material like food-grain, oil, etc, into Yamuna”.
“It is clear that enzymes have been released into drains leading to the Yamuna, and the river itself, which was pre-meditated and in utter disregard and violation of the judgment,” said Mr. Arya.
Accepting the pleas of Manoj Misra and Anand Arya, the court clubbed the contempt cases into one, which will come up for hearing on May 25.
The Foundation has termed both applications as “baseless”.
A petition has accused the spiritual guru of flouting court orders
