A Bengaluru court on May 4 temporarily restrained the media from publishing false news linking senior Janata Dal (Secular) leaders HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy to the sexual abuse case against MP Prajwal Revanna, reported Live Law on Wednesday.

Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy sought a permanent ban on media outlets making false allegations against them in connection with the case. While Deve Gowda is the grandfather of Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, Kumaraswamy is the parliamentarian’s uncle.

The order passed by a city civil and sessions court in Bengaluru restrained 89 media outlets from publishing incorrect news items about the two Janata Dal (Secular) leaders.

“If, without any substantive and truthful material, the articles are published depicting the plaintiff unnecessarily either by showing the photographs, videographs, by way of [morphing], except with regard to their statements given to the medias, the reputation and the dignity in the public at large may be tarnished,” the order said.

However, the court said that media could publish news items about Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy if they believed that they were true and if they had enough evidence to defend themselves, according to Live Law.

Prajwal Revanna, along with his father and former Karnataka minister HD Revanna, is facing allegations of sexual abuse and criminal intimidation.

On April 30, the Janata Dal (Secular) suspended Prajwal from the party. The Janata Dal (Secular) is contesting the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Prajwal Revanna is believed to be in the city of Munich in Germany, where he flew to on April 26. The Congress government in Karnataka on April 27 announced that a special investigation team will probe the allegations of sexual abuse.

On Thursday, the Karnataka Police filed a second first information report against HD Revanna for allegedly abducting a woman who claims to have been raped by Prajwal. HD Revanna was arrested on Sunday.

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