Bengaluru court restrains media from publishing defamatory content in Dharmasthala burial case
Bengaluru, Jul 21 (PTI): A Bengaluru court has issued a restraining order against multiple media houses and YouTube channels, barring them from sharing defamatory content against Harshendra Kumar D, brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, in connection with the alleged burial of bodies at Dharmasthala.
The order follows a defamation suit filed by the Secretary of Sri Manjunathaswamy Temple, after media reports surfaced citing allegations by a sanitation worker that he was forced by temple supervisors to bury several bodies. The worker, however, did not name Kumar or his family.
X Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge Vijaya Kumar Rai noted the potential reputational harm and stated that such allegations, even if false, could severely impact the temple, its institutions, and students.
"...when an allegation is made against the institution, and temple, it affects a 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 order stated.
The court also directed the removal or de-indexing of defamatory content already online.
Kumar submitted a list of 8,842 defamatory links, including thousands of YouTube videos, Facebook and Instagram posts, news articles, and social media posts.
He argued that no FIR named him or the temple's institutions, and one prior case had resulted in acquittal.
Emphasising the need to balance free speech with protection from defamation, the court stated this was an exceptional case of baseless allegations.
A John Doe order was also passed to cover unidentified individuals. The matter is set to be heard next on August 5.
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J'khand: 4 minors detained for 'raping' girl at birthday party
Ranchi (PTI): Four minors were detained for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl at a birthday party in Jharkhand’s Ranchi, police said on Saturday.
The incident took place on March 31 within the Namkum police station limits. An FIR in this regard was lodged on April 16 based on the girl’s statement, they said.
“All five, including the victim, were friends, and the girl had gone to attend the birthday party of one of those detained. At the party, the accused consumed alcohol and allegedly raped her,” said Ramnarayan Singh, the officer in-charge of Namkum police station.
“The four, aged between 15 and 17 years, have been detained and the medical examination of the girl is underway,” Singh said.
Further investigation is underway.
