SALAR NEWS

Dharmasthala mass burial: SC refuses gag order on media

Noting that gag orders were passed only in extremely rare cases, the Supreme Court asked the petitioner to place all materials before the trial court.

PTI

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The mass burial case involves alleged murder of multiple women in Dharmasthala. Photo: PTI

New Delhi, 8 Aug

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to gag media from reporting on the Dharmasthala mass burial case in Karnataka.

Instead, the two-judge bench comprising Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan directed a trial court in the state to decide afresh, on the plea filed by Dharmasthala temple Secretary, seeking removal of what he alleged was defamatory content targeting the family managing the temple.

The top court noted gag orders were passed only in extremely rare cases and asked the petitioner to place all materials before the trial court. The bench clarified it hadn't expressed opinion on the merits of the matter.

Notably, the Karnataka HC set aside a gag order issued by a Bengaluru civil court, restraining reportage on the burial case, on 1 August. The gag order was over reports on the alleged murders of multiple women in Dharmasthala, in Dakshina Kannada.

The petitioner's lawyer alleged around 8,000 YouTube channels were running defamatory material against the temple.

On 23 July, the SC had declined to hear another petition filed by YouTube channel, Third Eye, challenging a sweeping gag order that restrained media houses from reporting on matters related to Dharamadhikari D Veerendra Heggade’s brother.

The plea, filed against an ex parte interim order of a local court, questioned the legality of the directive which ruled as many as 390 media houses to remove nearly 9,000 links and stories related to the mass burial case.

The gag order was passed in the defamation suit alleging spread of false and defamatory online content, despite the absence of specific allegations against him or the temple authorities in any FIR.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara recently said a thorough investigation must precede any conclusions regarding the alleged murders of women in Dharmasthala. The state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations.