Madikeri: Editor, reporter of newspaper sent to jail, fined for publishing minor rape victim's photo
Madikeri: In a recent judgment, the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet sentenced the editor and a reporter of the 'Cauvery Times,' a daily newspaper in Kodagu district, to one year of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them. This decision came in response to their violation of the law by publishing the photograph of a minor who was raped and murdered in 2019.
The case dates back to 2019 when a minor was raped and murdered, leading to the registration of a case at the Siddapur Police Station. Subsequently, the accused in the case were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. During the coverage of the case, reporter Vasanth Kumar from the 'Cauvery Times' included a photograph of the victim, a clear violation of the law that prohibits the publication of the identity or photograph of sexual offence victims.
In July 2019, the victim's brother filed a complaint with the Gonikoppa Police, stating that the publication of his sister's photograph in the 'Cauvery Times' had caused significant distress to his family. Sub-Inspector BS Sridhar, who had been the investigating officer in the case, initiated an investigation against both reporter Vasanth Kumar and the editor of the daily, Nanjappa. He submitted the chargesheet to the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet.
The court heard the case on August 28, 2023, and subsequently sentenced the journalists to one year of imprisonment while also imposing a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them. Additionally, Judge Sujatha ruled that if they failed to pay the fine, an additional three months of imprisonment would be imposed. The Virajpet court granted Nanjappa and Vasanth Kumar conditional bail in light of this judgment.
It is worth noting that reporter Vasanth Kumar had previously been fined Rs 1 lakh by the Junior Civil Court in Virajpet for publishing false news in the newspaper. Moreover, a separate case had been registered against him for utilizing a fake Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) number to publish the daily newspaper.
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Karnataka sees drop in groundwater use, surge in recharge capacity: 2025 report
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka has recorded a significant decline in groundwater usage alongside a notable increase in annual recharge capacity, reflecting the impact of sustained water conservation efforts and good rainfall, Minister N S Boseraju said on Wednesday.
Releasing the 2025 Groundwater Assessment Report at Vikas Soudha, he said the gains are the result of good rainfall, focused policy interventions, and large-scale water conservation initiatives implemented over the past two years under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
According to the report, overall groundwater extraction has reduced from 68.44 per cent in 2024 to 66.49 per cent in 2025, indicating more responsible and sustainable usage patterns across the state.
At the same time, annual groundwater recharge capacity has increased from 18.74 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 2024 to 19.28 BCM in 2025, while annual extractable groundwater resources rose from 16.88 BCM to 17.41 BCM, the minister’s office said in a statement.
“This simultaneous reduction in usage and increase in recharge reflects our government’s commitment to long-term water sustainability,” the Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology Minister said.
The improvement has been driven largely by the expansion of water conservation structures (WCS) across the state.
Recharge through such structures increased by 29.11 per cent, from 0.81 BCM to 1.04 BCM within a year, the report stated.
Notably, the number of water conservation works has risen sharply from 3.15 lakh in 2024 to 3.94 lakh in 2025, strengthening the state’s groundwater recharge ecosystem.
The report indicates improvement in groundwater status across 11 taluks, with several regions moving to safer categories.
Highlighting these changes, the minister pointed out that Chamarajanagar taluk has improved from "over-exploited" to "critical".
Similarly, taluks including Athani, Channapatna, Molakalmuru, Ranebennur, Savanur, and Shiggaon have successfully transitioned from "semi-critical" to "safe" status.
Domestic groundwater extraction has also declined by 0.58 per cent, dropping from 1,21,731 hectare-metres (ham) in 2024 to 1,21,023 ham in 2025. Officials attribute this to increased reliance on surface water under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Boseraju said that initiatives such as lake rejuvenation, year-round water supply through treated and surface water, sustained public awareness campaigns, and good rainfall have played a key role in reducing over-extraction and enhancing recharge.
“Instead of depending solely on the 120-day monsoon, we are ensuring water availability throughout all 365 days through scientific management. This has strengthened long-term water security for both farmers and urban residents,” he said.
Announcing a major technological step forward in future governance, the minister added, “To further safeguard our resources, we are rolling out the Digital Water Stack (DWS) initiative. Under this framework, we will soon initiate space technology and AI-based satellite surveillance to obtain real-time data for continuous groundwater monitoring.”
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