Bengaluru Court Orders Civil Prison Detention for Contempt of Injunction in Sowjanya Case Narrative

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Ujire : In a significant development, the VI Additional City Civil and Sessions Court (CCH 11), Bengaluru, has passed a strong order in Misc. 588/2024 arising out of O.S. No. 4527/2023 filed by Sheenappa against Mahesh Shetty alias Ravi alias Mahesh Thimmarodi and others.

The Court has found that Nitesh Krishna Prasad Polepalli alias Ahoratra alias Natesh Polipalli willfully violated the injunction order earlier granted in O.S. 4527/2023. Acting under Order 39 Rule 2(a) of CPC, the Court held the respondent guilty of contempt and ordered his detention in civil prison for a period of 15 days, with subsistence allowance to be borne by the petitioner.

The contempt arose from repeated violations of the injunction order, despite clear directions restraining the respondent from making false and defamatory statements. The Court observed that the dignity of its orders cannot be trifled with, and deliberate disobedience would invite serious consequences.

This case gains wider public significance because, in the course of online narratives surrounding the Sowjanya case, respected institutions like Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala and the Dharmadhikari’s family members were allegedly dragged into baseless narratives on social media and public platforms. Such content, the complainant argued, was not only defamatory but also hurt the faith of lakhs of devotees.

With this order, the Court has sent a strong message that misuse of social media platforms to spread baseless and defamatory narratives, in violation of court injunctions, will not be tolerated and will invite strict penal consequences.

High court advocate Rajashekar S Hiliyaru argued on behalf of petitioners.