On 2nd April 2012, a Bangalore City Civil Court passed an interim injunction order against 9 Bangalore Television news channels including TV9, Survarna 24×7, Kasthuri, Udaya, Janashri, Public TV, E TV, Samaya 24×7 and News 9 restraining them from exhibiting, broadcasting or telecasting of programmes, reports, clippings or visuals referring to Nithyananda in a false or derogatory manner.
The multiple injunctions come in the wake of complaints registered by Paramahamsa Nithyananda against these channels for continuously and deliberately relaying programs defaming and ridiculing Nithyananda and his international socio-spiritual organization since March 2010.
On 29 March 2012, Nithyananda’s counsel had filed a petition at the Court of the City Civil Judge, Bangalore, seeking permanent injunction relief against the said channels. On 2 Mar 2012, the Hon’ble judge allowed the petition and ordered interim injunction relief. The petition was filed following a fresh spate of false and defamatory programs on Nithyananda aired by TV9 and News9 news channels from 26th March to 29th March 2012, citing the Karnataka CID as their sources and falsely reporting about the ongoing Nithyananda case, which is a subjudice matter in the court of law. The Nithyananda counsel was left with no choice but to avail of this injunction order as the TV channels were persistently and grossly violating and misusing the freedom of press.
It might be recalled that earlier, when the news channels cited CID sources and aired defamatory programs, Nithyananda’s counsel filed a petition in the Ramnagara Magistrate seeking a copy of the CID interrogation tapes of Nithyananda during the illegal custody to verify what the media had reported, to which the Karnataka CID categorically replied to the court that the interrogation tapes were stolen by one of their hired technicians and that they had not spoken anything to the media regarding the Nithyananda case investigation.
