SC refuses to hear plea challenging gag order in Dharamsthala case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear a petition 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 pertained to reports on alleged murder 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.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioner as to why the high court had not been approached.

You go the high court first, the CJI said.

The gag order was reportedly passed in a defamation suit filed by Harshendra Kumar, Secretary of Sri Manjunathaswamy Temple institutions, who highlighted the spread of allegedly false and defamatory content online, despite there being no specific allegations against him or the temple authorities in any FIR.

Recently, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara asserted that a thorough investigation must precede any conclusions regarding the alleged murder of women in Dharmasthala.

Prior to this, the state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations.

The plea in the top court was filed by YouTube channel Third Eye against a Bengaluru court order restraining the publication of any defamatory content against Harshendra Kumar D, brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, in relation to the Dharmasthala temple burial case.