Karnataka HC Refuses to Quash Case Against Two Journalists in Child Identity Case

The Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru has declined to quash the criminal proceedings against a newspaper reporter and an editor who are accused of disclosing the identity of a child victim in a Kannada daily.

In an order passed on June 30, 2026, Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde dismissed the criminal petition filed by reporter Girish Patil and editor Ashok Mahabaleshwar Hasyagara. Both petitioners had approached the High Court seeking to terminate the ongoing legal proceedings pending against them before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court in Dandeli, Karnataka.

The case against the journalists arose after they allegedly published information that disclosed the identity of a child victim. The petitioners had argued that the publication was intended to help the child secure justice, pleading that this intent should excuse them from the criminal charges.

However, the High Court rejected this defense. The court held that the statutory prohibition contained in Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, is strictly mandatory. According to the ruling, this legal prohibition cannot be avoided or bypassed on the plea that the news publication was meant to assist the child.

Justice Hegde also highlighted the potential harm of media exposure on minors. In his order, he noted that extensive media coverage does not necessarily serve a child’s welfare. The court observed that children respond differently to public exposure and that revealing a child’s identity, even when the child is the victim, can lead to adverse consequences that run contrary to the child’s best interests.

Concluding that no case had been made out for the High Court to exercise its inherent powers, Justice Hegde dismissed the criminal petition. The court refused to interfere with the lower court's proceedings, meaning the trial against the reporter and editor will proceed before the JMFC Court in Dandeli.