Dharmasthala 'mass burial' case: Supreme Court to hear plea against Karnataka High Court order lifting media gag

The gag order was over reports on the alleged murders of women in Dharmasthala in the state's Dakshina Kannada district.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up on Friday a plea challenging the Karnataka High Court's August 1, 2025 order, quashing a gag on media from reporting the controversy related to Dharmasthala mass burial case.

A Bengaluru civil court had restrained reportage in the matter.

“Around 8,000 YouTube channels are running defamatory material against the Dharmasthala temple,” an advocate submitted before a bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai and sought urgent listing of an appeal against the high court order.

Harshendra Kumar D, the Secretary of the Dharmasthala Temple Institution, has filed a special leave petition challenging the High Court order.

The bench, also comprising Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and K Vinod Chandran, said the matter is listed for consideration on Friday.

The Bengaluru court issued the order on July 18 in a civil suit filed by Harshendra Kumar D, head of the Dharmasthala temple administration, demanding the removal of thousands of media links from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and news portals.

An FIR was filed earlier, based on whistleblower allegations of mass burials near Dharmasthala. A woman named Sujatha filed a complaint on July 15, alleging that her daughter Ananya Bhat had gone missing from Dharmasthala in 2003.

On July 19, the Karnataka government formed the Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations on the basis of media reports.

The High Court, however, held the trial court order did not mention any alleged defamatory content based on which the order for mandatory sweeping injunction was passed.