Karnataka HC:17 Media Outlets Directed to Temporarily Block Articles Displaying Names of Two Acquitted of Alleged Crimes

Shashwati Chowdhury

Published on: August 4, 2022 at 20:38 IST

The Karnataka High Court directed 17 media outlets on Wednesday to temporarily block articles, videos, and comments that displays the names of the two petitioners in this case in connection to a criminal case that was filed against them but for which they were later acquitted.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Yahoo, and Indian Kanoon are some of the media outlets.

When giving notice to the respondents, Justice Krishna S. Dixit’s single-judge Bench stated, “Interim order as prayed for til next date of hearing. This interim protection has been granted in the light of observations of Apex Court in K.S.Puttaswamy Vs. Union of India (2019) 1 SCC 1.”

The petitioners were charged with offenses in 2014 that were punishable under the Sections 341, 342, 343, 324, 326, 370, and 374 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 23 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act .

It is claimed that numerous news websites and online intermediaries, including search engines and social media platforms, published and uploaded news articles and videos reported the alleged incident while also making serious allegations against the petitioners.

After going through a trial in 2018, the petitioners were acquitted of all charges. They have now approached before the court asking for a direction  to the respondents to delete the news articles, videos, comments, etc., claiming that doing so has caused the petitioners severe professional setbacks, violation of their privacy, severe mental agony and trauma, and infringes their fundamental right.

According to the plea, the petitioners’ rights to privacy and the right to a profession are violated by the websites’ displayong of news articles, videos, comments, and bail orders.

The Supreme Court’s decision in the case of K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India is cited to support the following argument:  “It is settled law that the petitioners have a Right to Privacy, of which the Right to be Forgotten and the Right to Be Left Alone are inherent aspects.”

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