Karnataka HC restrains media from publishing chargesheet details in Renukaswamy murder case
Bengaluru, Sep 10: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday issued an ex-parte interim order barring media outlets from broadcasting, printing, or publishing any information from the chargesheet against Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is accused along with 16 others in the Renukaswamy murder case.
The restriction will remain in place until the next hearing.
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar, presiding over a single-judge bench, passed the order following a plea by the 47-year-old actor, who requested the court to restrain media organisations from disseminating confidential details contained in the chargesheet and other materials gathered during the investigation.
The case is pending before a Magistrate court.
The High Court noted that despite an injunction issued by a lower court on August 27 in a suit filed by Darshan’s wife Vijayalakshmi, media outlets continued to share confidential information. Finding merit in the petitioner’s arguments, the court ordered media outlets, identified as respondents 3 to 40, to refrain from publishing any details from the chargesheet until the next hearing.
ALSO READ: Karnataka govt. mulling possibility of setting up fast track court to hear Renukaswamy murder case
In its decision, the HC referred to the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in "Sidhartha Vashisht @ Manu Sharma vs State (NCT of Delhi)", and Clause 5 of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995. It also cited a prior judgment from a coordinate bench of the Karnataka High Court.
The court instructed the Union of India to notify the media houses of this ruling.
Darshan was arrested on June 11, 2024, in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case and has been in judicial custody since June 22. Currently he is lodged in Ballari prison.
According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda (Darshan's friend and co-accused), which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June nine.
Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.
According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.
Police sources said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy’s murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
