High Court bars Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja from making hate speeches, repeating offences
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has directed Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja not to make any further hate speeches or repeat offences under criminal sections already filed against him.
Senior advocate S. Balan, appearing for the complainant Ibrahim, urged the court to vacate the interim stay granted on FIRs registered against Poonja for his alleged inflammatory speeches targeting the Muslim community and provoking communal tensions in Dakshina Kannada district. The court heard the matter on Thursday.
Advocates representing the government and Poonja sought more time, but Balan opposed the plea, arguing that allowing the interim stay to continue would enable the MLA to repeat such actions.
Balan told the court that Poonja’s hate speeches had provoked mob violence, including a lynching in Mangaluru and three recent murders in the region. He added that interim stay orders were being misused to incite communal hatred and bypass the law.
Justice Krishna Kumar, after hearing the arguments, extended the interim stay until August 7 but imposed strict conditions. The court directed that Harish Poonja must not indulge in hate speech or repeat any criminal conduct related to the sections already invoked against him.
Poonja had previously courted controversy during a speech at the Brahmakalashotsava of Tekkaru Gopalakrishna Temple, where he allegedly said that "rowdy Muslims" should be kept away from temple events and called for Hindu unity without fostering harmony with Muslims. His remarks reportedly escalated tensions at a time when communal killings had already taken place in the region.
The MLA had moved the High Court on May 4, 2025, seeking to quash the FIR registered at Uppinangady Police Station and requested an immediate stay on the proceedings. On May 22, the High Court had granted an interim stay.
Ibrahim, represented by Balan, later filed a "vacating stay" application against the May 22 order. FIRs are currently registered against Poonja in multiple police stations in Dakshina Kannada under various sections of the IPC, including:
* Belthangady PS: Crime No. 39/2023 – IPC 153, 153A, 505(1)(c), 505(2)
* Dharmasthala PS: Crime No. 57/2024 – IPC 504, 353
* Belthangady PS: Crime No. 58/2024 – IPC 143, 147, 341, 504, 506 r/w 149
* Bajpe PS: Crime No. 239/2016 – IPC 143, 147, 290, 160, 504 r/w 149
* Bantwal PS: Crime No. 117/2017 – IPC 142, 143, 188 r/w 149
* Dharmasthala PS: Crime No. 77/2023 – IPC 143, 353, 504 r/w 149
* Belthangady PS: Crime No. 105/2023 – IPC 504, 505(2)
Despite multiple FIRs, the complainant argued that Poonja continued to engage in repeat offences, making him ineligible for further protection through interim orders.
While continuing the stay until the next hearing, the High Court laid down firm conditions, clearly stating that Harish Poonja must refrain from hate speech and any repetition of his past criminal acts.
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8 dead, dozens wounded in Russian strike on Ukraine's Odesa port
Kyiv (AP): Eight people were killed and 27 wounded in a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, southern Ukraine, late on Friday, Ukraine's Emergency Service said on Saturday morning.
Some of the wounded were on a bus at the epicentre of the overnight strike, the service said in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged.
The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region.
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Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces hit a Russian warship and other facilities with drones, Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement on Saturday.
The nighttime attack on Friday hit the Russian warship “Okhotnik,” according to the statement posted to the Telegram messaging app.
The ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform. The extent of the damage is still being clarified, the statement added.
A drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea was also hit. The facility is operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil. Ukrainian drones also struck a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
