Karnataka HC refuses to quash defamation case against MLA Yatnal

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday, 12 November 2026, dismissed a petition by expelled BJP MLA Basanagouda Ramangouda Patil Yatnal seeking to quash a criminal defamation case filed by Congress MLA Shivananda S Patil. The case stems from remarks Yatnal allegedly made about Patil during a media interview broadcast on a YouTube channel on 30 April 2025, including questioning Patil's parentage and accusing him of cheating the Panchamasali community.

Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde rejected Yatnal's argument that the trial court had erred in taking cognisance without first examining a witness who could state that Patil's reputation had been lowered in that witness's estimation. The High Court held that the magistrate need not invariably examine such a witness at the cognisance stage, and that the statements prima facie cast serious aspersions on Patil's integrity and character. The court observed that the magistrate had based the cognisance order on the publication of the remarks and the statements of two witnesses, and therefore it could not be said to be erroneous.