A local court in Karnataka has temporarily restrained media houses from airing, publishing or broadcasting any defamatory material against BJP leader Madal Virupakshappa and his son Prashanth Kumar M V, facing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Judge Balagopalkrishna of a civil court in Bengaluru observed that just because the Lokayuktha police seized an amount during a raid in the office of the MLA’s son, could not infer that both of them were involved in the corruption case.
The defendants in the case include The Times of India, Banglore Mirror, Deccan Herald, The Indian Express, The Hindu, NDTV 24×7 and Aaj Tak.
One Shreyas Kashyap had recently filed a complaint with the Lokayukta Police against the MLA and his son.
Kashyap said that he owned a partnership company called Chemicals Corporation in Bengaluru and had successfully participated in the tender process in January, 2023 to supply chemical oil to Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL).
The complainant alleged that Virupakshappa, who was the Chairman of KSDL, along with his son, demanded a bribe of Rs 81 lakh to release the mandate and money.
The Lokayukta Police conducted a raid and arrested five people including Prashanth, while accepting Rs 40 lakh bribe in a private office on Crescent Road in Kumara Park.
The MLA and his son approached the civil court claiming that 46 media companies were broadcasting defamatory material against them. They sought a gag order against the media organisations, claiming that some channels were holding panel discussions on the matter, where their character was being assassinated without verification of facts.
The accused claimed that the discussions were affecting their goodwill and were being held at the behest of an opposing political party.
The civil court observed that calling the accused corrupt was acceptable, but broadcasting the same in various news channels and conducting panel discussions was nothing but character assassination, that too when the matter was being investigated.
On Tuesday, the Single-Judge Bench of Justice K. Natarajan had granted bail to Virupakshappa on a personal bond of Rs five lakh and directed him not to enter the office of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL) till further orders.
The post Karnataka court restrains media from airing any defamatory content against BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, son appeared first on India Legal.
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