HC sets aside order barring media from exposing BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya’s tainted past

coastaldigest.com news network

April 12, 2019

Bengaluru, Apr 12: The Karnataka High Court on Friday set aside the temporary injunction passed by a sessions court in Bengaluru restraining media houses from publishing what Bengauru South BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya termed as "defamatory" content against him.

The direction came in response to a PIL filed by the Democratic Reforms Organisation, which had demanded that the high court dismiss the injunction, media reports said.

Surya had moved court and sought a ban on publication of allegedly defamatory statements against him. On March 29, the city civil and sessions court had directed the media from publishing anything false, malicious and derogatory against the young candidate.

The order barred 49 media organisations from publishing any such news against the 28-year old. The media houses included most English and Kannada newspapers and television news channels, and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.

The suit and the consequent order came in the context of, also mentioned by Surya in his prayer, certain #MeToo allegations on Twitter and their subsequent reports. While the Twitter user who levelled the allegation later deleted the tweets, she put out another statement seeking the issue be put to rest. The said tweets are now unavailable.

Overturning the gag order, the high court on Friday said the media could not be restrained from publishing content except that which is defamatory in nature. The court added that Surya can approach the Election Commission of India if he comes across defamatory content being published against him.

Surya’s nomination from the prestigious Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat came as a surprise as Tejaswini Ananthkumar, the widow of Union minister Ananthkumar who passed away in November last year, was considered the front-runner. The minister had won six straight terms from Bengaluru South between 1996 and 2014.

Surya will contest against the Congress’s BK Hariprasad, a party veteran and Rajya Sabha MP who had lost the 1999 Lok Sabha elections to Ananthkumar by 65,000 votes.

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QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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