Court passes mandatory injunction against media from publishing defamatory contents against Dharmasthala

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Belthangady : A city civil and sessions court has passed mandatory injunction against hundreds of individuals and several media platforms, including print, television, digital and social media, from transmitting and telecasting “false, reckless, baseless and defamatory videos and other contents” against Harshendra Kumar D., his family members, including his elder brother D. Veerendra Heggade of Dharmasthala temple, and their institutions in connection with the “mass burial” case.

Anitha M., Judge of the 17th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, passed the interim order on August 28 after hearing a fresh suit, filed by plaintiff Mr. Kumar, based on a recent direction issued by the Supreme Court.

The Judge watched videos, uploaded on various digital and social media platforms against Mr. Kumar and others as reports on mass burial allegations, played on laptop in the open court by the plaintiff’s advocate S. Rajashekar.

Mr. Kumar had filed the suit on July 18 seeking ex parte temporary injunctions against 338 defendants. The civil court on July 18 had passed an ex parte temporary injunction restraining 338 defendants and even any “unknown persons” from publishing defamatory contents against Mr. Kumar and others, besides ordering removal and de-indexing of 8,842 weblinks that allegedly contained defamatory contents against Mr. Kumar and his family members and their institutions.