Defamation law aims to strike a balance between permitting the free distribution of information, ideas, and opinions, and protecting individuals and small businesses from having their reputations tarnished or destroyed. What is essential is merely an intention to cause harm on the part of the accused. For example, if a person makes a statement that all doctors are thieves, a doctor cannot bring forth a claim unless he can prove that it is intended to defame him individually. A man’s reputation is treated as his property and if any person poses damage to property he is liable under the law, similarly, a person injuring the reputation of a person is also liable under the law. Under Indian law, liability is not imposed for defaming the dead. There are two different offences, firstly, under Section 501 where printing or engraving materials that are defamatory is punishable, and secondly, under Section 502 if a person offers for sale any defamatory material which is printed and engraved, the same is also punishable. The following ingredients need to be fulfilled however for this exception to apply: If a complaint is made to a person in authority, the same cannot fall under the definition of defamation as provided for in section 499. For example, if a newspaper publishes that a man is an alcoholic or that he is in an extramarital affair, can rarely prove to be for the public good. When particular words spoken are referred to a group of individuals or a class of persons, then no single person of that group or class can sue unless he proves that the words could reasonably be considered to referring him. There is an imputation of a criminal offence to the plaintiff filing the suit. degree. Can i file defamation case and claim damages from wife for false case. Sometimes it may happen that the statement was prima facie innocent but because of some secondary meaning, it may be considered to be defamatory. Hence, such statements shall be defamation. With respect to a petition filed before a court of law containing defamatory matter, the same would amount to publication under Section 499, as was held in the case of Thangavelu Chettiar vs Ponnammal. (Hereinafter called “the husband”) of the ONE PART and Smt. The Supreme Court in the case of G. Narsimhan v TV Chokappa has held that the collection of persons must be an identifiable body so that one can ascertain and differentiate a group of particular persons from the rest of society. Publication of a defamatory statement leads to not only the publisher but also the maker being held liable under this section. The plaintiff was also one of the person carrying on a similar business, and as a result of this statement his reputation also severely damaged. Hence, a publication under Section 499 essentially entails that communication of the defamatory statement or imputation to third persons, i.e persons other than the one against whom such imputation is made. Unlike English law, Indian law does not make any distinction between libel and slander and both are treated as criminal offenses under. So the cause of action is of the present members of the family, who are the plaintiffs.”, Explanation 2: Defamation of a Company or a Collection of Persons, of the Indian Penal Code defines ‘person’ as “, any Company or Association or body of persons, whether incorporated or not.”. Justice R Basant in the landmark case of. The comment should be fair i.e. Hence, she filed a suit for defamation and was entitled to damages. It is necessary that the statements made are in fact false and not true. Every citizen of the country has a legal right to make true and fair statements on the public servants in the interest of the public. Protection is provided to case comments of the decisions that have been adjudicated upon confidently. If a statement refers to a girl/ woman’s adultery or character. It is necessary to show the rational basis for such belief. He discusses the concept of defamation in detail. Further, mere injury to the feelings of a person doesn’t constitute the offence of defamation. Now B can hold A liable for defaming him although the bank did not directly focus on him. The main dilemma that the offence of defamation deals with, is between the rights protected under freedom of speech and expression and the right of a person against defamation. Did the accused intend to make the imputation? The husband shall not be liable for any claim or demands of the children and the wife shall keep the husband indemnified from and against all claims and demands in respect of such children. So the cause of action is of the present members of the family, who are the plaintiffs.”. Here, it is essential to prove that the person making the statement had knowledge or reason to believe that such a statement would harm the reputation of the complainant. In another recent case of Arun Jaitley v Arvind Kejriwal, the court held the statement said by Arvind Kejriwal and his 5 other leaders to be defamatory. The principle established in Wason v. Walter was not applicable in India which was inconsistent and conflicting until the year 1956. For example, If X says that A has been guilty of breach of trust and therefore he is a dishonest man. sending a defamatory letter to plaintiff written in Urdu knowing that the plaintiff did not. However, it is to be noted that this does not extend to every lineal descendant. The statement needs to be made in good faith. which tends to lower the reputation of the plaintiff. Under the ninth exception, the presence of the same is required and it is not enough on the part of the accused that he believed the statement to be true. | Powered by. The distinction between English Law and Indian Law. should not be based upon untrue facts. Illustration- If A, a bank publishes a notice to all its branches to not give the loan to any person from xyz as the people of xyz are more often repeated defaulters. Thus, if a teacher calls a student lazy or an employer admonishes an employee for coming late, the same would not fall under the offence as envisaged under Section 499. In the case of T.V., Ramasubha Iyer v. A.M.A Mohindeen Court held the defendants liable for publishing a statement without any intention to defame the defendants. What is essential is that a substantial number of people understand who the article refers to. Hence, often at times, these two concepts coincide and thus, proceedings can be initiated for both the offences of criminal defamation and criminal contempt of court when they overlap. Did he conduct any due diligence before making the alleged imputation? It is thus essential that accurate reports of these proceedings are made and excluded from the domain of the offence of defamation. The statement mentioned that a particular person carrying business of Agarbathis to Ceylon has been arrested for the offense of smuggling. Lastly, if any person institutes suit for frivolous purposes, the court shall be empowered to punish the same through exemplary costs. 4. Later the defendants were not able to prove that the facts published by him were true and, therefore he was held liable. If a person who is aware that a defamatory statement is false and still repeats or communicates it further, then he can also be held liable for defamation. It is essential that the statement which defames a person is published, i.e. Section 500 lays down the punishment to the person who commits the offence of defamation. In a civil action for defamation, the truth of the defamatory matter is a complete defense and the reason for this is that “ Law will not permit a man to recover damages for something being true about him “. There is a statement that the complainant had an infectious disease which further leads to society avoiding him. 1) you must record all threats of your wife . of the Indian constitution gives immunity to parliamentarians to speak anything during the course of business of parliament and no action would lie against them. Privileges are of two types. What updates do you want to see in this article? For example, in the famous case of American actress Katie Holmes, a magazine published that she was a drug addict. This not only includes libel, which is defamation in written form, but also slander, defamation by spoken word. Unlike English law, Indian law does not make any distinction between libel and slander and both are treated as criminal offenses under section 499 IPC. The meaning of ‘harm’ is clarified under Explanation 4 of Section 499 which reads as follows: “lowering the moral, intellectual character or credit of a person with respect to his or her caste or calling, or stating that a person’s body is loathsome or disgraceful.”. Elements of defamation under the tort law, the alleged defamatory words must refer to the plaintiff and. Login Alert. Similarly, if a person writes a letter which contains defamatory material and keeps the same within his possession, no offence is made out. The plaintiff was also one of the person carrying on a similar business, and as a result of this statement his reputation also severely damaged. The husband shall not be liable for any claim or demands of the children and the wife shall keep the husband indemnified from and against all claims and demands in respect of such children. Under this exception, even if good faith has to be established, the imputation must be made for the protection of interest of the person making it. The harm to reputation can cause mental as well as financial problems to the plaintiff. Defamation refers to a wide term encompassing a legal claim which involves an injury to one’s reputation which is a result of a false statement of fact. perceive the person post them coming in contact with such defamatory material. the plaintiff. In the landmark case of Chaman Lal v State of Punjab, the Supreme Court held that to prove good faith under exception 8 & 9, certain questions can  be looked at: Under this exception, a person is required to establish that the imputations were a result of ‘good faith’  and was meant for ‘public good’. and expression and the right of a person against defamation. Determining whether an accused can take the plea of good faith is a question of fact and it has to be kept in mind that there must be honesty of purpose on the part of the accused. However, it is to be noted that this does not extend to every lineal descendant. The person making the statement must be in a position of authority over whom the statement is made. Hence, while it may be okay to say hurtful or mean things about someone as long as they may be true, on the other hand, it is not justified when the same is done in a way that leads to damage to the reputation of the person about whom the statement is made. The person taking the benefit of this defence must ensure that the statement he made is fair and honest and he has the onus to prove that the said imputation was true or that there existed circumstances which made him believe that the information was true. The High Court of Bombay has held that a notice that is defamatory in nature which an individual gets issued through his advocate will not constitute the offence of defamation as all communication between a client and an attorney is private, confidential and privileged and as such is only addressed to the person defamed. When the marriage is nearly over but the divorce has yet to take place, one or both spouses may say or write things about the other that could damage the reputation, chances of work or revenue or cast a negative light upon the other at any point. All of these must be fulfilled for an accused to be charged and convicted of this offence. Libel is always actionable i.e. The petition spelt out the complaint that Akhtar had intentionally made references against Thakur to provoke voters against her. Exceptions 8 and 9 of Section 499, Indian Penal Code, 1860. the Supreme Court held that to prove good faith under exception 8 & 9, certain questions can  be looked at: What constitutes the offence of defamation with respect to the alleged defamatory statement? The wife shall pay for and discharge all liabilities or debts incurred by her after the date of these presents, whether for maintenance, support or otherwise and the husband … Justice R Basant in the landmark case of Raju v. Chacko held that even if an offence cannot be made out against the dead but if the statement leads to hurting the feelings of the family and relatives of the deceased, the same is actionable in a court of law. The court, after a year’s argument and observing the past circumstances, took cognisance of the matter and proceeded against the accused wife. Unless this requirement is fulfilled, the said statement cannot be said to constitute defamation. Toke Makinwa loses defamation suit against ex-husband The court gave Toke Makinwa 30 days from its judgment to delete and remove said defamatory words from unsold copies of the book in her custody. There are two different offences, firstly, under, where printing or engraving materials that are defamatory is punishable, and secondly, under. I was married for 25 yrs to my husband. has held that the collection of persons must be an identifiable body so that one can ascertain and differentiate a group of particular persons from the rest of society. But, in the medical board issued a medical report, in which husband is found to be normal (i.e potent). In the case of Mahendra Ram v. Harnandan Prasad, the defendant was held liable for sending a defamatory letter to plaintiff written in Urdu knowing that the plaintiff did not know Urdu and the letter will very likely be read over by another person. | Powered by. This was a false news item as she had gone to attend night classes for her B.A. It is necessary to show the rational basis for such belief. It grants immunity from civil and criminal action to such a publication if it is without malice and for the public good and if the report is substantially true.” In Matters Personally Defaming the Governor, His Personal Authorisation is a must. lays down the punishment to the person who commits the offence of defamation. It is important to understand why defamation is an offence under the Indian Penal Code. In the case of Mahendra Ram v. Harnandan prasad the defendant was held liable for sending a defamatory letter to plaintiff written in Urdu knowing that the plaintiff did not knew Urdu and the letter will very likely be read over by another person. Under Indian law, liability is not imposed for defaming the dead. However, slander is also actionable in the following 4 cases: Imputation of a criminal offense to the plaintiff. , also held that the typist of the lawyer who typed such defamatory notice shall also not be liable. His ex wife got their divorce but she kept on harassing him for more and more money. Under the law of torts, slander is actionable, except in few cases where special damage has to be proved. Matters like administration of government departments, courts, ministers, public meetings, textbooks, etc are considered to be matters of public interest. Under Section 499, vide Explanation 2 states that even if the statement refers to a company or an association of person, it can be considered defamation. Since no finding is given on the allegations made by your wife as such it is pre-mature to proceed against your wife. If it appears that no prior reasonable or proper enquiry is conducted by the accused, he cannot avail the benefit of this defence.