Dharmasthala Burial Case: Third Eye moves Supreme Court challenging gag order by Karnataka Court

Filed by the YouTube channel Third Eye, the petition calls the gag order “unprecedented and profoundly alarming,” arguing that it amounts to a direct assault on freedom of speech (Article 19(1)(a)) and natural justice (Article 21). The plea also seeks transfer of any future defamation proceedings by the influentialtemple administrators outside Karnataka, citing their deep regional sway.

The plea comes just a day after the Karnataka government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe claims that hundreds of women and girls were allegedly murdered in Dharmasthala, a major Hindu pilgrimage town.

Details of the petition are awaited.

The original ex parte order by the Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge Vijaya Kumar Rai had restrained publication or sharing of any allegedly defamatory content against the Heggade family and Dharmasthala institutions. It also issued a mandatory injunction directing removal or de-indexing of 8,842 links.

"The Court cannot ignore the fact that though the reputation of every citizens is very important, when an allegation is made against the institution, and temple, it affects wider range of people including the employees and students who are studying in various colleges and schools. Therefore, even a single false and defamatory publication would seriously affect the functioning of the institutions," the Karnataka Court observed on July 21.

"If the defendants are allowed to make such defamatory statements, the damage likely to be caused to the plaintiff, temple and the institutions cannot be quantified. Even if the suit is decreed or an order of injunction is passed after hearing the defendants, the damage likely to be caused in the interregnum period cannot be compensated in any way," it added.

The Supreme Court is expected to examine the matter soon.