What is the dispute over sale of Osho ashram properties in an upscale Pune neighbourhood

Who owns the Osho centre and why do they want to sell it?

Osho Meditation Centre in Pune is a trust whose ownership is split between Neo Sanyasas and Osho International Foundation. The ashram received the status of a trust in 1998 after changing its name to Neo Sanyas Foundation from Rajneesh Foundation. It was originally established as Jeevan Jagruti Kendra in 1969. Mukesh Kantilal Sarda, Devendra Singh Deval, Sadhana Belapurkar and Lal Pratap Singh are the present trustees of the Osho International Foundation.

The assets of the trust swelled over time. In 2008, the trust Abhilasha Foundation and Osho International Foundation merged into one. In 2011, Dhyan foundation was merged into the Osho International Foundation. With every merger, all movable and immovable assets of the organisation were taken under the wings of Osho International Foundation.

In 2020, the Osho International Foundation filed an application with the additional charity commissioner, saying it was in financial distress as Covid-19 and the consequent restrictions around foreign travel had disrupted the steady stream of funds from foreign visitors. It proposed to sell off part of its assets — two plots, each about 1.5 acres which house a swimming pool and a tennis court — and the highest bidder was Rajivnayan Rahulkumar Bajaj and Rishab Family Trust, at Rs 107 crore. The trust passed a resolution on November 30, 2020 to sell the property rights and enter into an MoU with Bajaj.

What is the legal dispute around Osho Meditation Centre?

The rift among Osho’s followers can be traced back to 2013, when Yogesh Thakkar, a disciple of Osho and managing trustee of Osho Friends Foundation, filed a complaint with the Pune Police alleging that Osho’s (Bhagwan Rajneesh) will was forged. Thakkar had also accused Osho International Foundation of siphoning off income and articles of Osho and fetching millions of dollars per annum for the same in foreign lands.

In 2016, claiming there was no progress in investigation, Thakkar filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court and demanded a CBI probe into the case. The case was, however, transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Pune City Police. Later in 2018, Pune Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Pune city police were pulled up by the Bombay High Court for no progress in the case.

In 2020, as the centre ceased operations and closed gates for outsiders, the Osho International Foundation made its deal with Rajiv Bajaj, MD and CEO of Bajaj Auto, who lives on an adjacent plot. Thakkar, however, was of the view that the place has been built by Osho devotees and belongs to Osho devotees.

In March 2021, two disciples of Osho objected to the sale and asked to be made “intervenors” in the case. The charity commissioner’s office allowed their application to be heard. Consequently, six more disciples of Osho Rajneesh moved an application before the charity commissioner’s office in Mumbai seeking to be heard in the matter.

In July 2021, a group of followers led by Thakkar approached Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari and urged him to launch an investigation into activities of the Osho International Foundation.

In response to the Governor, the Foundation said what it wanted to sell was only 1.5 per cent of the total ashram area.

“From 1987 to the present, the total area of the campus has increased from 6 to 28 acres — so is now four and a half times larger. The property that is proposed for sale makes up only 1.5 per cent of all of the campus built up,” the letter sent to Koshyari by Mukesh Sarda, trustee of Osho International Foundation, said.