High Court sets aside externment order against Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, directs fresh review
Bengaluru: In a significant relief to social activist Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, the Karnataka High Court has set aside the externment order issued against him and directed the Puttur Assistant Commissioner to reconsider the matter by following due legal procedure.
Timarodi had been externed to the jurisdiction of Manvi Police Station in Raichur district for a period of nine months—from December 16, 2025 to September 16, 2026—by an order passed by the Puttur Sub-Divisional Magistrate. Challenging this decision, he approached the High Court seeking quashing of the order.
Hearing the petition, a single-judge bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna observed that the authorities had failed to properly consider the objections filed by the petitioner before passing the externment order. The court noted that the order appeared to have been issued mechanically without proper application of mind.
Directing the Assistant Commissioner to review the case afresh, the High Court stated that the petitioner’s objections must be duly examined and a fresh decision should be taken strictly in accordance with law. The court instructed that this exercise be completed within three weeks from the date of receipt of the order copy.
The bench also pointed out that several of the cases cited against Timarodi in the externment proceedings had already ended in acquittal. Despite this, the authorities proceeded with the order without evaluating the relevance and gravity of the allegations, the court observed.
Background of the case
According to the prosecution, more than 32 cases have been registered against Mahesh Shetty Timarodi in various police stations. The authorities claimed that his activities were causing disturbance to public peace and creating tension between different communities. Citing these grounds, the Puttur Sub-Divisional Magistrate had earlier issued an externment order against him.
Timarodi had initially challenged that order before the High Court, which had quashed it and asked the authorities to pass a fresh order after following proper procedure. However, the Assistant Commissioner once again issued a similar externment order, prompting Timarodi to approach the High Court for the second time.
During the latest hearing, counsel appearing for Timarodi argued that the externment action was politically motivated and aimed at silencing him for raising public issues. The lawyer submitted that Timarodi had been actively involved in protests and campaigns seeking justice in the Belthangady student rape and murder case, which had angered certain vested interests.
It was further argued that many of the cases registered against him were frivolous and filed with malafide intent. Out of the total cases, Timarodi has already been acquitted in 16, while two cases are still under trial and eight remain at the investigation stage. The externment order, however, relied mainly on five recent cases, all of which were minor in nature and did not warrant such a harsh action.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that there was no material evidence to prove that Timarodi’s presence in his hometown would pose any threat to public order or safety. No credible reports were produced to show that his activities endangered public property or disrupted law and order, it was argued.
The High Court took note of these submissions and observed that externment is a serious measure that curtails a person’s fundamental right to movement and residence. Therefore, such orders must be passed only after careful scrutiny and on the basis of strong and convincing grounds.
Finding procedural lapses and lack of proper reasoning in the impugned order, the court remanded the matter back to the Puttur Assistant Commissioner for fresh consideration.
The ruling is being seen as a major legal victory for Timarodi, who has maintained that the repeated externment attempts were aimed at curbing his activism.
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