Dharmasthala Case: SIT Strengthened with 20 Officers as Court Orders Media to Remove Nearly 9,000 Reports

Bengaluru/New Delhi: The Karnataka government has expanded its investigation into the shocking revelations of a mass grave cover-up in Dharmasthala, a temple town in Dakshina Kannada district. As the controversy deepens, media restrictions and legal battles are unfolding, drawing national attention.

Following startling disclosures by a sanitation worker, who claimed that several men and women had been secretly buried in and around Dharmasthala, the state has widened its probe. Twenty police officers from Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and Chikkamagaluru districts have now been inducted into the Special Investigation Team (SIT). An earlier IPS-led four- member team, headed by DGP Pranab Mohanty, was already in place, though reports suggest that two members of that initial team have expressed their intent to withdraw.

In the wake of the revelations, the Dharmasthala Temple Trust obtained a sweeping gag order from the Bengaluru City Civil Sessions Court, presided over by Judge Vijay Kumar Rai. The order prohibits the publication of any "defamatory" content about the Trust and mandates the removal of 8,842 links from the internet. The directive targets 390 media entities, including mainstream media houses, YouTubers, and even social media forums such as Reddit. It applies broadly, covering both named and unnamed media organisations, and will remain in effect until further notice.

The gag order stems from a defamation suit filed by Harshendra Kumar, Secretary of Sri Manjunathaswamy Temple Institutions and brother of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade. He argued that defamatory content was spreading online despite no specific allegations being made against him or the temple authorities in any FIR.

The court’s directive has triggered strong reactions, with many viewing it as an overreach that stifles press freedom. Protests have erupted across Karnataka, and a YouTube channel named Third Eye moved the Supreme Court seeking intervention. The petition demanded that the Dharmasthala Trust be restrained from filing defamation cases against journalists, that any gag orders be issued only after factual scrutiny, and that legal reporting should not be construed as defamatory.

However, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court declined to entertain the petition. A bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi questioned why the petitioner had not approached the High Court first. “You go to the High Court,” the CJI stated, declining to admit the plea.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara maintained that a thorough investigation must precede any conclusions regarding the alleged mass burials.