Dharmasthala Case| Karnataka HC Closes News Minute's Plea After Trial Court Denies Extending ‘Gag’ Order
The Karnataka High Court on August 11, 2025, disposed of a petition filed by Spunklane Media Pvt. Ltd., which runs the news portal The News Minute, noting that the trial court had declined to extend its earlier ex-parte interim order restraining media outlets and YouTube channels from publishing allegedly defamatory content related to the Dharmasthala Burial case.
The impugned order, issued by the trial court, had barred reporting against Harshendra Kumar D, brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, as well as his family, their institutions, and the Sri Manjunathaswamy temple. The direction had been challenged before the high court by the portal, which argued it restricted legitimate reporting on matters of public interest.
Trial court Judge Anitha M on August 6 rejected Harshendra Kumar’s plea to continue the restraining order.
In the high court, when the matter came up before Justice M. Nagaprasanna on Monday, The News Minute’s counsel submitted that its petition had become infructuous in light of the trial court’s refusal to grant an extension. Counsel for the respondent confirmed the development, prompting the high court to formally close the case.
The high court ordered, “Counsel for petitioner files a memo depicting that petition is rendered infructuous in the light of the concerned court not extending the interim order. In that light the petition is disposed having become infructuous".
A separate challenge by The News Minute to a John Doe order, linked to its coverage of the alleged murder of a 17-year-old girl in Dharmasthala, is still pending and is scheduled for hearing on Monday, August 18, 2025.
The portal has argued that it published multiple reports on the incident and related allegations, and later received a notice in May alleging violation of an earlier March 22 ad-interim order of the city civil court.
The burial case centres on a whistleblower's allegations that between 1995 and 2014, hundreds of bodies, including women and children showing signs of sexual assault, were secretly buried in Dharmasthala temple town, triggering alarm among families of missing persons. One such family is that of Sujatha Bhat, whose daughter disappeared 22 years ago, and who now seeks a full investigation into the claims. The disputed ex-parte gag order, first secured by Harshendra Kumar D, Secretary of the Dharmasthala Temple administration in June without hearing the defendants, targeted major media outlets with sweeping restrictions, from mandatory takedowns of existing reports to pre-publication censorship of future coverage.
Case Title: Spunklane Media Pvt Ltd vs. Harshendra Kumar D
Hearing Date: August 11, 2025
Bench: Justice M Nagaprasanna