'State Should Not Be Impulsive Like An Ordinary Citizen In Defamation Matters And Invoke Sec 199(2) CrPC To Throttle Democracy' :Madras HC Quashes Cases Against N Ram & Ors [Read Judgment]
4 years, 7 months ago

'State Should Not Be Impulsive Like An Ordinary Citizen In Defamation Matters And Invoke Sec 199(2) CrPC To Throttle Democracy' :Madras HC Quashes Cases Against N Ram & Ors [Read Judgment]

Live Law  

In a significant judgment underscoring the importance of press freedom, the Madras High Court on Wednesday quashed the criminal complaints filed against a group of editors and journalists such as N Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, Siddharth Varadarajan, Nakkeeran Gopal etc.The complaints were lodged in 2012 alleging "criminal defamation against State' over few reports against J Jayalalitha,. Alleging that the reports amounted to defamation of a state functionary, criminal complaints were filed by the Public Prosecutor before the Sessions Court under Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. If the State becomes an impulsive prosecutor in criminal defamation matters that too in an era of social media where there are scores of abusive contents made against public figures, the Sessions Court will get clogged with innumerable matters which are sometimes vindictive in nature only to settle scores with opposition political parties" Likening the State to a "parent", the Court observed : "State is like a parent for all citizens in so far as Defamation law is concerned. The materials assessed shall be indicated by the Sessions Court in its order taking cognizance of the complaint filed under section 199 Cr.P.C" Public Prosecutor not to act like a post office The Court said that Public Prosecutor should not act like a "post office" to merely file complaints at the directives of the State, and should independently apply mind on the allegations before filing the complaint. Ingredients of defamation missing The Court noted that in all the cases, the core ingredient required for prosecution through a public prosecutor under section 199 Cr.P.C.

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History of this topic

Karnataka High Court Quashes Defamation Case Against Congress Leader Over Remarks On The Word 'Hindu'
3 weeks, 3 days ago

Karnataka High Court Quashes Defamation Case Against Congress Leader Over Remarks On The Word 'Hindu'

Live Law  

The Karnataka High Court has quashed a defamation case registered against Congress Leader and Member of Legislative Assembly Satish Jarikholi, who was charged under Section 500 and 153 of the Indian Penal Code, alleging to have hurt the sentiments of Hindus as he made a statement that the word “Hindu” has a dirty meaning. A single judge Justice M Nagaprasanna …

Defamation case: SC relief for AAP leaders
3 months, 1 week ago

Defamation case: SC relief for AAP leaders

Hindustan Times  

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed criminal defamation proceedings against Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi chief minister Atishi in a case related to a statement made in 2018 that accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of facilitating the alleged deletion of 3 million voters from electoral rolls ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal …

SC quashes criminal defamation case against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav
10 months, 3 weeks ago

SC quashes criminal defamation case against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav

Hindustan Times  

The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed a criminal defamation case against Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was summoned by an Ahmedabad court last year over his alleged offending remarks against Gujaratis. The bench, while hearing the RJD leader’s plea, earlier stayed the proceedings on the criminal defamation complaint and issued notice to Gujarat resident Haresh Mehta who filed …

Chennai City Public Prosecutor files criminal defamation complaint against Annamalai for allegations against CM
1 year, 7 months ago

Chennai City Public Prosecutor files criminal defamation complaint against Annamalai for allegations against CM

The Hindu  

The Chennai City Public Prosecutor has filed a criminal defamation complaint against BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai before the Principal District and Sessions Court here for having made defamatory allegations against Chief Minister M.K. In his petition, the City Public Prosecutor said he went through the video clippings of the press conference and perused the address by Mr. Annamalai …

Defamation perils: on the Rahul Gandhi case
1 year, 8 months ago

Defamation perils: on the Rahul Gandhi case

The Hindu  

A striking feature of the Surat district court’s order declining to stay the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is its unusual emphasis on his status as a Member of Parliament to justify his conviction and quantum of punishment. It is quite evident from a reading of 8th Additional Sessions Judge Robin P. Mogera’s order that the court deems an …

Two takeaways from the Surat court’s order
1 year, 9 months ago

Two takeaways from the Surat court’s order

Hindustan Times  

There are two significant takeaways from a Surat district court’s conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi — and neither is about whether or not he will be disqualified as a Member of Parliament although a 2013 Supreme Court judgment is explicit on the outcome. The first is about whether the judgment will reopen the discussion on one of the most …

[AAP vs BJP Defamation Case] Not Law, Common Man Wants To Know Truth About Allegations Against Public Servants: Supreme Court
2 years, 3 months ago

[AAP vs BJP Defamation Case] Not Law, Common Man Wants To Know Truth About Allegations Against Public Servants: Supreme Court

Live Law  

This observation of the Top Court came in while considering BJP MP Manoj Tiwari's plea challenging the judgment of the Delhi High Court which refused to quash the summoning order issued by a Magistrate in the defamation case filed by Manish Sisodia, Delhi's Deputy CM. The defamation case was filed by Sisodia in 2019 against BJP leaders — Members of …

Defamation | Magistrate Can't Refer Complaint About Offence U/S 500 IPC To Police For Investigation U/S 156(3) CrPC: Karnataka High Court
2 years, 7 months ago

Defamation | Magistrate Can't Refer Complaint About Offence U/S 500 IPC To Police For Investigation U/S 156(3) CrPC: Karnataka High Court

Live Law  

The Karnataka High Court recently quashed the proceedings initiated under section 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code, wherein the Magistrate court referred the complaint filed for defamation under section 499, 500 of the Indian Penal Code to the police for further investigation.While doing so, the Bench relied on the Apex court judgement in the case of Subramanian Swamy v. Union. …

No Vicarious Liability For Criminal Offences In Absence Of Statute: Karnataka HC Quashes Defamation Case Against MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar
2 years, 10 months ago

No Vicarious Liability For Criminal Offences In Absence Of Statute: Karnataka HC Quashes Defamation Case Against MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar

Live Law  

The Karnataka High Court has quashed the defamation proceedings against Member of Parliament, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, initiated in the year 2012, when he was the Managing Director of Suvarna News 24/7 Kannada Television Channel. Petitioners submissions: Senior Advocate C V Nagesh appearing for the petitioner submitted that rhe complaint registered was not even maintainable as the petitioner is only a Managing …

Give Respect To Leaders Of Country/State While Publishing Matters Related To Them: Madras High Court Directs Tamil Newspaper
3 years, 5 months ago

Give Respect To Leaders Of Country/State While Publishing Matters Related To Them: Madras High Court Directs Tamil Newspaper

Live Law  

Noting that while reporting a matter related to the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha, a Tamil Magazine/Newspaper 'Dinamalar' had referred to her as 'J', the Madras High Court recently directed the publisher of the Magazine that: "While printing and publishing matters with regard to the leaders of the Country or State, the petitioners are supposed to give …

Batting for free speech: On filing of defamation cases against press
4 years, 7 months ago

Batting for free speech: On filing of defamation cases against press

The Hindu  

A feature of public life in Tamil Nadu in the last three decades has been the indiscriminate institution of criminal defamation proceedings against Opposition leaders and the media. The verdict of Justice Abdul Quddhose, quashing a series of defamation complaints filed since 2011-12, is remarkable for applying a set of principles that would firmly deter the hasty and ill-advised resort …

Judicial Process Should Not Be An Instrument Of Operation Or Needless Harassment: Cautions Allahabad HC [Read Judgment]
5 years ago

Judicial Process Should Not Be An Instrument Of Operation Or Needless Harassment: Cautions Allahabad HC [Read Judgment]

Live Law  

While cautioning the courts to be circumspect and judicious in exercising the discretion and issuing process, the Allahabad High Court quashed the summoning order passed against the editorial staff of a newspaper, in connection with a defamation case. Thus it was held, "the complaint was not maintainable before the Magistrate as there is specific provision that the complaint should be …

Mahua Moitra – Zee News Defamation Cases: What Happens Next?
5 years, 2 months ago

Mahua Moitra – Zee News Defamation Cases: What Happens Next?

The Quint  

Criminal defamation complaints cannot be made to the police and instead have to be made to a magistrate, who can then order an investigation and for the case to begin. In such cases, the court has to examine the complaint made by the aggrieved person, which needs to contain details of how the offence of criminal defamation is made out …

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