Supreme Court docket asks YouTube channel to first strategy Excessive Court docket in ‘Dharmasthala burials’ case

The Supreme Court docket on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) declined to listen to a problem to an “ex-parte” and “sweeping gag order” handed by a Bengaluru civil courtroom restraining media retailers from publishing any defamatory materials in opposition to Harshendra Kumar D., brother of Dharmasthala pattadhikari D. Veerendra Heggade, in reference to the alleged burials within the temple city.

Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, when the petition was talked about orally for an early itemizing, suggested advocate A. Velan, showing for the YouTube channel, Third Eye, to first strategy the Karnataka Excessive Court docket.

Additionally Learn | Dharmasthala burials: Ashok says temple shouldn’t be tarnished whereas focusing on people

The petition had sought an interim keep of the civil courtroom order of July 18, which had additionally directed the media to take down any content material already revealed in reference to the problem.

It argued that the civil courtroom “successfully imposed a sweeping gag order and necessary content material deletion on a whole bunch of media entities nationwide”.

“This order, secured via a calculated abuse of judicial course of and materials misrepresentation by the plaintiffs, immediately obstructs a high-level State prison investigation into allegations of mass burials and severe crimes linked to the influential Dharmasthala temple. It

is a frontal assault on the liberty of speech and the Press (Article 19(1)(a)) and the foundational rules of pure justice and due course of (Article 21),” the petition stated.

The Karnataka authorities has already constituted a Particular Investigation Group to investigate into the allegations.