CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has issued a gag order against the media on reporting the details of the dispute between actor Ravi Mohan and estranged wife Aarti Ravi.
Justice GR Swaminathan passed the orders- John Doe order- recently on the applications filed by the actor who has been caught in a bitter matrimonial tiff. (John Doe orders are such orders that are passed against unnamed defendants).
The actor had prayed for the court to restrain Aarti and her mother Sujatha, from making defamatory statements against him to the media, including on social media platforms. The judge directed them not to make such statements.
“What has happened between the applicant (Ravi Mohan) and the first respondent (Aarti Ravi) has no element of public interest at all,” he said. The judge noted, “To gain more and more viewership, every sleazy information is magnified, distorted and presented.”
He added, “The interests of the two children of the parties cannot be sacrificed at the altar of mass consumerism.” The judge pointed out that when the court is seized of the matter, it is not for the media to conduct a parallel trial.
“The media, both print as well as online, are restrained from posting, hosting or debating any information concerning the matrimonial dispute between the applicant/plaintiff and the first respondent/defendant,” the judge said in the order. He directed the online portals and websites to “take down the offending/defamatory contents pertaining to the matrimonial dispute between them.”