A petition against the Art of Living group cites The Caravan

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), yesterday, sought a reply on a petition alleging that “gross disrespect” had been shown to the orders of the tribunal in the public domain by Ravi Shankar, the spiritual head of the Art of Living foundation. The plea filed by environmental activist Manoj Mishra, convenor of the non-profit Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, argued that Vyakati Vikaas Kendra India, a trust run under the aegis of the Art of Living group had told the NGT that it did not have enough funds to pay an “environmental compensation” of Rs 5 crore, immediately after an order to that effect was passed on 9 March.

Citing an earlier story filed by Kaushal Shroff, a fact checker at The Caravan, the application states that “a statement was made that the Organization (AOL) did not have enough funds to pay such a huge sum at such short notice. However, the Applicant came across Article titled ‘Despite claiming not to have 5 Crore to pay the NGT, the Art of Living has over 200 crore worth of assets and 80 crore in revenue’ published in the Caravan Magazine on 4.5.2016 wherein it has been found that the spiritual founder of AOL, heads over Rs 234 crore worth of assets, with over Rs 81 crore in latest revenues from the United States, United Kingdom and the Netherlands alone.

Here is the story cited in the contempt application.