Advertisement

Plea In Supreme Court Against Bengaluru Civil Court's "Gag" Order In Dharmasthala Case

The petition - filed by Third Eye YouTube Channel - in the top court termed the civil court order "unprecedented and profoundly alarming". "

Plea In Supreme Court Against Bengaluru Civil Court's "Gag" Order In Dharmasthala Case
The petition said that media reporting proved to be a public service in this case.
New Delhi:

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging a Bengaluru civil court's order restraining the media from sharing "defamatory" content against the brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade.

The petition - filed by Third Eye YouTube Channel - in the top court termed the civil court order "unprecedented and profoundly alarming". "It is a frontal assault on the freedom of speech and press (Article 19(1)(a)) and the foundational principles of natural justice and due process (Article 21)," the petition stated.

It was filed a day after the Karnataka government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the claims that hundreds of women and girls were allegedly murdered in Dharmasthala - one of the major Hindu pilgrimage centres in Karnataka.

The petition arose out of an order by the Bengaluru court on a plea by Harshendra Kumar D, the brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade.

It said that media reporting proved to be a public service in this case, as an SIT was formed, noting the coverage of the case by the media.

It pointed out that the whistleblower's original complaint, which forms the basis of the FIR, explicitly alleges that "supervisors" and the "Dharmasthala temple administration" threatened him with death and forced him into burying and burning hundreds of bodies.

"As core figures within this very administration, the plaintiffs are directly implicated in the scope and direction of this grave criminal investigation," the plea added.

The plea also argued that there are direct allegations against them in one Sujatha's complaint for her missing girl-child:

"A subsequent, pivotal complaint filed by Smt. Sujatha directly and tragically names both Sri Harshendra Kumar and Dr D Veerendra Heggade. She alleges their personal involvement in verbal abuse, refusing to register her daughter's 2003 disappearance from Dharmasthala, and orchestrating a physical assault against her when she sought answers from the temple authorities."

"Crucially, the media's reporting on these chilling allegations was not a malicious act, but a vital public service," it added.

The plea argued that the initial FIR (July 4) did not immediately lead to comprehensive state intervention.

"It was the sustained media coverage of crime that specifically prompted Smt. Sujatha's complaint (July 15), which explicitly stated that she came forward because she saw the media's coverage. "

This irrefutably demonstrates the essential role of a free press in uncovering hidden truths and providing a voice to long-silenced individuals, the plea stated.

Along with the removal of the media "gag", the plea further sought an order from the top court that any future defamation case by Harshendra Kumar D and his brother Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade should be heard outside the state, as they are "influential".

"Shri Harshendra Kumar serves as executive co-ordinator of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala and the secretary of its affiliated educational and social organisations. His elder brother, Dr D Veerendra Heggade, is the Dharmadhikari of the temple. Due to these roles, they exercise considerable influence regionally and beyond." The plea read.

The petition has argued that the gag order protects those who are directly implicated by the mother of a missing girl.

"This order, secured through a calculated abuse of judicial process and material misrepresentation by the plaintiffs, directly obstructs a high-level state criminal investigation into allegations of mass burials and serious crimes linked to the influential Dharmasthala temple," it said,

The petition claimed that Sri Harshendra Kumar D held significant positions of authority within the Dharmasthala temple administration and its vast network of associated institutions.

The Bengaluru civil court has granted an ex parte injunction to delete or de-index a staggering 8,842 links on the coverage of the allegations made by a sanitation worker that he has buried several bodies in Dharmasthala.

These links include coverage by newspapers, TV channels, websites and YouTubers. Several tweets, Facebook posts and Reddit threads by individuals, too, have been mentioned in the petition.

Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world

Follow us:
Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com