Renukaswamy murder case: Darshan Thoogudeepa alleges media violating court orders, urges Karnataka HC to direct Centre to take action

Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, was allegedly murdered for sending lewd comments to the actor’s friend, Pavitra Gowda, on Instagram. His body was discovered near a stormwater drain in Bengaluru in June 2024. Thoogudeepa and several other accused were arrested in the case. On December 13, 2024, the Karnataka High Court granted regular bail to Thoogudeepa and Gowda. Thereafter, the state government approached the Supreme Court challenging the bail. On August 14, 2025, the Supreme Court rejected Thoogudeepa’s bail.

In his petition, the actor claimed that media channels have been recreating court proceedings and the alleged crime scene by using graphics and AI-prompted animations, and holding panel discussions weighing the evidence recorded by the trial court. The petition contended that this was in “Gross Violations” of injunction orders passed by the Karnataka High Court and the City Civil Court in 2024, which restrained the media from airing sensitive information related to the case.

The plea stated that the media has willfully and maliciously been broadcasting/publishing the proceedings and case-related information, violating the rights guaranteed under Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution.

Further, it is said that the “contumacious conduct” of media channels has not only impacted the pending trial of the petitioner but has also violated the basic ethical code of journalism.

On January 16, the actor filed a complaint before the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, referring to over 1,000 YouTube links and seeking action against erring channels. Since ‘no action’ was taken by the authorities, Thoogudeepa approached the high court.

The petition stated that the authorities have a statutory duty to consider the complaint and pass appropriate directions. “However, despite the lapse of more than 30 days, no action has been undertaken and no-show cause notice has been issued to the said Media Channels,” it said.

Thus, the petitioner sought the issuance of a direction to the respondents to register the complaint dated January 16 and issue a show cause notice to media channels and take action in accordance with the Cable Television Networks Act, 1995, Cable Television Networks Rules, 1995, Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.