NEW DELHI
A Bengaluru civil court issued an ex-parte interim restraining order prohibiting individuals and media platforms from publishing or circulating allegedly defamatory content against the Dharmasthala temple, its religious head Dr. D Veerendra Heggade, his brother D Harshendra Kumar, their family members, and affiliated institutions. The order, passed by the 11th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, follows a defamation suit filed by D Harshendra Kumar seeking injunctive relief against several individuals, including Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, Girish Mattannavar, and YouTuber MD Sameer.
Following that, a YouTube channel, Third Eye, has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Bengaluru civil court's order. The petition calls the gag order "unprecedented and profoundly alarming," arguing that it violates freedom of speech and the press (Article 19(1)(a)) and principles of natural justice and due process (Article 21). Filed shortly after the Karnataka government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe serious allegations of mass murders in Dharmasthala, the plea claims that media reports played a pivotal role in triggering official action.
According to the petition, a sanitation worker’s complaint alleging he was forced to bury and burn hundreds of bodies under threat from the temple’s administration led to an FIR on July 4. However, it was continued media coverage that prompted a second key complaint by one Sujatha on July 15. She accused both Harshendra Kumar and Dr. Heggade of personally obstructing her attempts to report her daughter’s 2003 disappearance and of orchestrating violence against her.
The plea argues that the media did not act with malice but provided a crucial public service by bringing such serious allegations to light. It also alleges that the civil court’s ex parte injunction leading to the deletion or de-indexing of over 8,800 online links amounts to a misuse of judicial process. Seeking removal of the gag, the petition also urges the top court to transfer any future defamation cases filed by the influential Heggade family outside Karnataka, citing concerns over their substantial regional influence and potential to interfere with due process.