Government defends Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi’s externment as legal and justified

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Oct 14, 2025: The Karnataka state government has defended its decision to extern Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, a prominent campaigner demanding justice for the death of Soujanya, stating that the order was legally sound and adhered to all principles of natural justice.

Thimarodi was ordered to stay in Manvi, Raichur district, for one year under an externment notice, which he has challenged in the Karnataka High Court. The matter was heard on Monday by Justice Suraj Govindaraj.

Representing Thimarodi, senior advocate Taranath Poojary argued that the externment order suffered from serious procedural flaws. He alleged that both the government and the Home Department were acting in a targeted manner against Thimarodi. Poojary noted that no clear list of criminal cases was provided, despite Thimarodi having been acquitted in nearly ten cases, with ’B’ reports filed in two others. He also dismissed allegations of potential violence during the Lok Sabha elections and claims that witnesses feared Thimarodi as being baseless.

In response, Advocate General K. Shashikiran Shetty refuted these claims, asserting that Thimarodi’s activities as part of the Soujanya movement were well known in the region. He emphasized that the government had acted within the framework of law, and no violation of natural justice had occurred. The externment order, he maintained, was procedurally sound.

After hearing both sides, the court reserved its judgment and extended the interim relief already granted, which bars authorities from initiating coercive action against Thimarodi in connection with the externment order.