HC sets aside civil court order restraining defamatory contents against Harshedra Kumar and his family
The High Court said that temporary injunction granted by the civil court 'conspicuously lacks the foundational reason required for grant of such extraordinary relief as an ex parte interim injunction.'
Wield with care
Pointing out that John Doe order of pre-emptive injunction is granted by a court against unknown persons, who are likely to infringe upon someone's rights, usually related to copyright, trademarks, media leaks and piracy, the High Court said the John Doe orders must be 'wielded with great care and judicious foresight'. A John Doe order, a placeholder name, traditionally used in the United States legal system to pass orders against any 'unknown' defendants, was also adopted by the courts in India.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while partly allowing a petition filed by Kudla Rampage, a Mangaluru-based YouTube channel, which is one of the 338 defendants, including various individuals and media platforms, in the suit filed by Mr. Kumar.
Unsustainable
The civil court's July 18 order of temporary injunction 'is unsustainable, as the order passed which has sweeping effect, on all 338 defendants could not have been passed as an interim measure, by an ex-parte interim injunction. This is exactly the final relief that is sought in the suit. Therefore, the final relief in the suit, is ostensibly handed over at the interim stage,' the High Court observed while setting aside the temporary injunction granted against the petitioner.
The High Court also said that 'the civil court, for the asking, had issued 'John Doe order', which now cast its net so wide that it threatens to ensnare any voice against the plaintiff [Mr. Kumar], the family or the place. This could not have been issued on bereft of reasons.'
While directing the civil court to expedite the fresh hearing on the plea for temporary injunctions granted againt the 'unknown persons' and others in the suit, the High Court has made it clear that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the civil suit, the criminal proceedings or the veracity of the allegations and the counter allegations.
The suit was filed seeking injunction restraining publication of any defamatory content against Mr. Kumar, his family, the temple administration and its affiliated institutions, apart from seeking a direction from the civil court for removal and de-indexing of 8,842 weblinks that allegedly contain defamatory contents against Mr. Kumar and his family members and their institutions.
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