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Scroll.in
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Dharmasthala ‘mass burials': SC refuses to impose gag order on media reports
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to restrain the media from publishing reports or commentary related to allegations of mass graves, disappearances and crimes against women and students over the past two decades in the temple town of Dharmasthala, reported Live Law. A bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan directed a trial court to decide afresh on a plea seeking to gag such reporting, filed by Harshendra Kumar D, secretary of the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Education Society and brother of Bharatiya Janata Party MP D Veerendra Heggade, according to Bar and Bench. The Heggade family manages the Dharmasthala Manjunathaswamy Temple and the institutions affiliated with it. Harshendra Kumar D had challenged the Karnataka High Court order from August 3, which set aside a gag order issued by a Bengaluru civil court on media outlets, YouTube channels and individuals. On Friday, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the petitioner, alleged that the media was running a 'defamatory campaign' while the investigation in the case was pending. He also showed the bench allegedly defamatory social media posts. The bench said that while the temple management can claim damages for posts deemed defamatory, 'gag orders are only passed in the rarest of rare cases'. 'For example the journalist gets to know that police officer has number of a terrorist,' Bar and Bench quoted Manmohan as saying. 'Then they cannot publish. But gag orders are super injunctions. They stifle free speech.' He added: 'Let it be argued before the trial court. There is no documentary evidence. We live in a free country.' In July, a first information report was registered in Dharamasthala based on a complaint by a sanitary worker, who alleged that he was forced to bury the bodies of several women bearing signs of sexual assault. On July 19, the Karnataka government announced the to probe the case. Home Minister G Parameshwara had on August 1 reviewed the investigation and said the state was also monitoring social media posts about the case that could 'wrongly impact society'.
India Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Dharmasthala case: Supreme Court to hear plea against removal of media gag order
The Supreme Court on Friday will hear a plea challenging the Karnataka High Court's recent decision to strike down a media gag order in the Dharmasthala mass burials petition has been filed by Harshendra Kumar D, the Secretary of the Dharmasthala Temple Institution, who moved the apex court seeking an urgent listing of the the Supreme Court agreed today to hear the case tomorrow, the matter has not yet appeared in the cause list for The Karnataka High Court, last Friday, quashed a lower court's media gag, calling it an 'unconstitutional restraint on free speech.' Justice M Nagaprasanna said the public's right to know cannot be curtailed, especially in a case involving alleged institutional failures and potential criminal gag order had earlier barred 338 individuals and entities, including the YouTube channel Kudle Rampage, from publishing or broadcasting any content related to the Rampage challenged the injunction, leading to the High Court verdict. The court observed that the ex-parte order by the trial court amounted to a 'chilling effect' on journalism and struck at the heart of public A Velan, who represented the petitioners, called the ruling 'a powerful affirmation' that the law cannot be used to shield institutions from scrutiny. 'This is not about defamation; it is about transparency,' Velan said. 'This victory ensures the story will not be buried.'On the ground in Dharmasthala, the investigation continues. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case has so far recovered 100 bone fragments from multiple sites. Karnataka Police have confirmed the presence of three poisonous substances in skeletal remains recovered from two of the eleven excavated sites in SIT is taking the alleged whistleblower to various spots for excavation. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) is examining the skeletal remains and soil samples. Excavation at spot 11A has concluded, and fieldwork will follow before continuing at spot 13.- EndsTune In IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Dharmasthala case: SC to hear plea against Karnataka HC order lifting media gag
New Delhi, The Supreme Court would hear on Friday a plea challenging a recent order of the Karnataka High Court quashing a media gag on reportage surrounding the controversial Dharmasthala mass burial case. Dharmasthala case: SC to hear plea against Karnataka HC order lifting media gag The high court on August 1 set aside an earlier gag order issued by a Bengaluru civil court restraining reportage on the burial case. 'Around 8,000 YouTube channels are running defamatory material against the Dharmasthala temple,' an advocate submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai and sought urgent listing of an appeal against the high court order. Harshendra Kumar D, Secretary of the Dharmasthala Temple body, moved the apex court seeking removal of what he alleges is defamatory content targeting the family that manages the temple. 'I think it's already listed for tomorrow,' the CJI said. On July 23, the CJI-led bench declined to hear another petition filed by YouTube channel Third Eye challenging a sweeping gag order that restrained media houses from reporting on matters related to the brother of Dharamadhikari D Veerendra Heggade of Dharamsthala in Karnataka. The gag order was over reports on the alleged murders of women in Dharmasthala in the state's Dakshina Kannada district. The plea, filed against an ex parte interim order of a local court, questioned the legality of the directive which directed as many as 390 media houses to remove nearly 9,000 links and stories related to the Dharamsthala burial case. The CJI had questioned the petitioner for not moving the high court. 'You go the high court first,' the CJI said. The gag order was passed in Kumar's defamation suit alleging spread of false and defamatory online content, despite the absence of specific allegations against him or the temple authorities in any FIR. Recently, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said a thorough investigation must precede any conclusions regarding the alleged murders of women in Dharmasthala. The state government has constituted a special investigation team to probe the allegations. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Dharmasthala ‘secret burials': Judge who issued media gag order recuses from hearing case
The Bengaluru court judge who issued a gag order on media reports against the family of the Sree Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara temple administration in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada, in connection with investigations into alleged secret burials in the region, has recused himself from hearing the case. The recusal comes in the wake of an application by a journalist indicating that the judge is an alumni of an institution operated by the temple administration. On Monday, the principal sessions judge allowed the 10th additional city civil and sessions judge Vijaya Kumar Rai to recuse himself from hearing the original suit filed by Harshendra Kumar D on behalf of the family. 'Pursuant to the request made by this court to transfer this suit to any other court, the Honourable Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge has withdrawn this suit and transferred to the court of XVII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, for disposal in accordance with law as per the notification…dated 04.08.2025,' judge Rai said in an order on Monday. 'In view of this, the registry shall forward the entire records of this case to the XVII Civil and Session Judge, Bengaluru (CCH-16),' he said. The judge had passed a gag order on media reports about the family members of the temple administration amid a public controversy that has gripped the temple town following a former sanitation worker's allegations that he was forced to bury several dead bodies in the region during the 1995-2014 period. The Karnataka High Court had also recently referred the July 18 gag order of the civil court back to the court on account of its blanket nature, rather than merely restricting defamatory reporting against the Sree Dharmasthala temple administration. The recusal comes after journalist Naveen Soorinje, who is defendant number 25 of the 240 media outlets and activists named in the suit, indicated a conflict of interest for the court on account of the judge having studied at SDM Law College 25 years ago. Earlier, the Bengaluru civil court had granted an ex parte injunction to 'delete/de-index' a total of 8,812 links on various platforms related to the Dharmasthala secret burials case. The injunction order on July 18 was based on a petition filed by Harshendra Kumar D, brother of BJP MP D Veerendra Heggade and secretary of the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Society. The petition had sought directions to 'remove/delete/deindex the unverified false, baseless, reckless and defamatory allegations' against the plaintiff, his brother Heggade and his family members, the temple, and the institutions run by them. On August 1, the Karnataka High Court quashed the gag order with reference to the Mangaluru-based online media channel Kudla Rampage, stating that the civil court 'has ventured to grant a sweeping mandatory injunction, a relief which ordinarily ought to await the culmination of the trial.'
New Indian Express
02-08-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Karnataka High Court quashes injunction against Dakshina Kannada media house
BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Friday quashed the ex-parte ad-interim injunction order passed by a city sessions court restraining a Dakshina Kannada-based digital media house from reporting defamatory news linking the family members of Harshendra Kumar D and the Dharmasthala temple administration to the ongoing investigation into the alleged mass burial case. However, the court remitted the matter to the sessions court with a direction to consider the interlocutory applications afresh, bearing in mind the observations made in the order. Justice M Nagaprasanna pronounced the order while partly allowing the petition filed by 'Kudla Rampage', which challenged the legality of the injunction order dated July 18, passed by the 10th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru. Making clear that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the civil suit pending before the sessions court and also the criminal proceedings or the veracity of the allegations and the counter allegations, the high court said all contentions, except the one considered in this petition, should remain open and the petitioner and other parties should extend their full cooperation to the sessions court in passing the necessary orders. The petitioner was one among the 338 defendants before the sessions court, which passed the ex-parte injunction order restraining defamatory reporting against the plaintiff, his family, the temple administration and its affiliated institutions. It was also directed for the removal and de-indexing of over 8,842 web links.
