BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday sought an explanation from a petitioner who threatened a private channel by sending an e-mail stating that airing any programme on the Cauvery Calling project will amount to contempt of court. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi issued this direction to A V Amarnathan, a city-based advocate, who challenged the Isha Foundation’s project by filing a PIL.
Referring to an e-mail the petitioner sent to a private channel, that Isha Foundation pointed out in its affidavit, the bench said that such a request by the petitioner, who claims to be a pro bono litigant, may reflect that the petitioner was a pro bono petitioner. The petitioner cannot threaten any channel from airing any such programme, said the bench, adding that the petitioner has to file an affidavit justifying his conduct.
The programme was scheduled to be aired on a private channel on August 22. Stating that the case was pending before the court, the petitioner sent an e-mail to the channel on August 21.Isha Foundation filed an affidavit stating that the petitioner, knowing fully well that there was no interim order restraining the airing of the programme on the channel, had misled the channel. Therefore, the channel cancelled the scheduled programme.