Karnataka High Court stays April 6 protest at Dharmasthala

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has temporarily stayed a protest that was scheduled on April 6 at Dharmasthala. The protest was planned to condemn the alleged rape and murder of a student in Ujire.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna, heading a single-judge bench, passed the interim order while hearing a petition filed by Dhanakeerthi Ariga. The court ordered that no protest be held until the next hearing.

The petitioner’s counsel presented WhatsApp messages related to public discussions about the protest. They argued that these messages could potentially violate previous court orders in favour of the Dharmasthala temple and its authorities. There were also mentions of attempts to forcefully enter the temple premises, the counsel added.

Taking note of these submissions, the court issued an interim stay on the protest and sent an urgent notice to the organisers. The accused in the rape and murder case had already been declared innocent by the court. However, some organisations had announced the April 6 protest to demand further investigation into the real cause of the death.

The High Court had earlier ruled that peaceful protests cannot be denied. But now, the April 6 event has been stayed and the hearing has been postponed.