Cauvery Calling: Karnataka High Court converts challenge to suo motu plea, pulls up petitioner for sending legal notice to Discovery Channel

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday decided to treat the plea seeking directions to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's Isha foundation to not collect funds from the public for its Cauvery Calling project, as a suo motu petition..The Court was prompted to pass the said direction after petitioner Advocate AV Amarnathan recently sent a legal notice to the Discovery Channel asking them not to air a programme on the project..The order passed by a Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi states, ."In his affidavit, Amarnathan instead of showing remorse has justified what he has done. Therefore, we cannot allow the petitioner to prosecute this petition as a pro-bono litigant. Orders passed by this court from time to time will show that the issue raised in the petition will have to be gone into. Therefore this petition will have to be treated as suo-motu (PIL).”Karnataka High Court.The Court further noted that the conduct on the part of the petitioner, i.e., threatening Discovery Channel with a legal notice, was unexpected and unwarranted. It went on to note,."The petitioner appearing in person cannot decide whether airing of such a program will amount to contempt of court. If according to him airing of the program was objectionable, the petitioner could have adopted appropriate remedy. Instead of adopting appropriate remedy he issued a threatening email, in two places he reiterated that airing such a programme will amount to contempt of Court. The petitioner who claims to be pro-bono litigant is not expected to act in this fashion of virtually threatening the channel.”.The Court has now posted the matter for further hearing on November 3, when it will appoint a member of the Bar as Amicus Curiae in the matter..In his affidavit, Amarnathan submitted that he had not threatened the channel, but only informed them that airing a programme on the Cauvery Calling project would attract the provisions of contempt of court. .Senior Counsel Uday Holla, representing Isha Foundation, had apprised the Bench that Discovery Channel wanted to air a programme based on the Cauvery Calling project. Subsequently, the petitioner sent a legal notice to the channel, saying that airing the program would amount to contempt of court.."There is no interim order passed by your Lordships. He (Petitioner) keeps doing mischievous things such as this....", submitted Holla..The petition filed by Amarnathan alleged that as part of the Cauvery Calling project, Isha Foundation was planting saplings on government land and was collecting money for the same from the public..The plea raises concern as to how the government can allow its land to be used by a private organisation, without studying the pros and cons of the project..The petitioner further argued that the “collection of money from public is disturbing” as the Foundation is expected to collect a massive ₹10,626 crore as donation.