Named as main accused in bribery case, Karnataka BJP MLA gets media gag order

Named as prime accused in a bribery scandal, a BJP MLA from Karnataka has obtained a temporary injunction against “defamatory” media reporting, the Indian Express reported.

A civil court issued the order on Monday, two days after Madal Virupakshappa, who is considered a close aide of B S Yediyurappa, approached it for a gag order in a case against 46 media organisations. 

“The defendants are hereby temporarily restrained from airing or broadcasting or publishing or expressing any defamatory opinion against the plaintiffs in the news channels, public media and also conducting any panel discussions in any manner, till the next date of hearing,” the court said, according to the report.

The Channagiri MLA was named as the main accused after Lokayukta officials dug out Rs 6 crore in cash at his residence and Rs 1.85 crore from his office after his son Prashanth Madal was caught taking a bribe on Thursday last week.

Virupakshappa was the chairman of the state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited, which manufactures the Mysore Sandal Soap. Prashanth is the chief accountant at Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

The case has come as an embarrassment for the governing BJP with Karnataka scheduled to go for assembly elections later this year.

In several cases in which similar gag orders have been issued, courts have held that the directions only bar propagation of false information and not fact-based reportage.