Bangalore: Till yesterday he was lionised and held in high respect, even in the coastal region, when he appeared. Today he is in the dumps.

Journalist Ravi Belagere was fined Rs.35 lakhs on Tuesday(April 17) in city civil court by a Judge.

In 2003, Ravi wrote a story against Playwin Company that it was cheating people by false promises. The Play win Lottery Company officers Abhay and Gautam had filed a petition seeking justice against defamation by ‘hai Bengaluru’, a Jittery Bangalore periodical edited by Ravi Belagere.

The city civil court that conducted enquiry into the case came up with an order imposing Rs35 lakhs fine on Ravi, of which Rs.30 lakhs would go to Abhay, and Rs 5 lakhs to Gautam, now. The fine is payable in 2 months.

In case of default, another 10% would be added to the fine charged at present, the court told Ravi, to remind him.

Ravi is involved in several controversies, of late about Kannada film “On the banks of Bheema river”, based on a story, he claimed, he had written.