A local court in Bengaluru on Friday passed an injunction against 49 media houses as well as social media platforms from publishing defamatory content against Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Tejasvi Surya. Surya, a candidate from Bengaluru South, had filed a suit in the civil city court after reports said there were allegations of sexual abuse against him.
XIX City Civil & Sessions Judge Dinesh Hegde granted an interim injunction in favour of Surya, Bar and Bench reported on Saturday. The matter will be heard next on May 27, which is after the Lok Sabha elections are over.
“It appears that some of the prima facie defamatory messages pertaining to him is in transit in the media,” the court said while passing the injunction, The Indian Express reported. “The plaintiff has produced a copy of a Twitter publication that is called ‘Me too case against Tejaswi Surya’.”
The media houses Surya has named include The Times of India, The Hindu, Deccan Herald, Kannada publications like Prajavani, Kannada Prabha, Vijaya Karnataka and Udayavani. The injunction also names TV9, Suvarna News and Public TV among Kannada channels, CNN News 18, Times Now, India Today, NewsX and Republic TV among English channels, and Google, Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube among social media platforms.
“The defendants are hereby restrained from making defamatory statements against the plaintiff in any manner in electronic or printing media,” the judge said.
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