DELHI | 23RD JULY 2025 – The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday declined to directly entertain a plea by the YouTube channel Third Eye, which challenged a Bengaluru sessions court’s gag order restraining the publication of any alleged defamatory content against Harshendra Kumar D, the brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, in connection with the ongoing Dharmasthala temple burial case.
SC URGES CHANNEL TO APPROACH KARNATAKA HIGH COURT FIRST
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai along with Justices Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi refused to hear the petition directly and advised the petitioner to approach the Karnataka High Court first.
“First go to the High court and then come here. We cannot discourage our High Courts,”
— CJI BR Gavai
THIRD EYE YOUTUBE CHANNEL’S CHALLENGE TO THE GAG ORDER
Counsel for Third Eye argued that the order amounted to a gag on the press and violated freedom of speech:
“9,000 video links have been asked to be taken off. This is a gag order,”
The YouTube channel further contended in its plea:
“It is a frontal assault on the freedom of speech and press (Article 19(1)(a)) and the foundational principles of natural justice and due process (Article 21).”
They alleged that the gag order was obtained through calculated abuse of judicial process and misrepresentation by the plaintiff, Harshendra Kumar.
BACKGROUND: DHARMASTHALA TEMPLE BURIAL ALLEGATIONS
The case emerged following sensational media reports about allegations made by a sanitation worker, who claimed to have buried multiple bodies at the Dharmasthala temple premises under duress. He alleged he was threatened by supervisors, though no specific individuals were named in the FIR.
DEFAMATION SUIT FILED BY HARSHENDRA KUMAR
In response, Harshendra Kumar, who is the Secretary of Sri Manjunathaswamy Temple Institutions, filed a defamation suit highlighting the spread of allegedly false content across platforms.
He submitted a list of 8,842 online links, including:
4,140 YouTube videos
932 Facebook posts
3,584 Instagram posts
108 news articles
37 Reddit posts
41 tweets
The content allegedly targeted Kumar, his family, and temple institutions, despite no mention of them in FIRs or any ongoing criminal charges.
BENGALURU COURT’S INJUNCTION AND RATIONALE
Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Vijaya Kumar Rai issued a temporary restraining order against the publication of any defamatory content on digital, social, or print media. The judge also issued a mandatory injunction for the removal or de-indexing of already published defamatory material.
