No Intention To Harm Reputation: Calcutta High Court Quashes Defamation Case Against Reporter & Editor Of A Bengali Daily
The Calcutta High Court has allowed a criminal revision application filed by a Reporter and the Editor of Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika, seeking to quash the criminal proceedings instituted against them for running a story on forceful land possession by one Madan Mohan Manna, a leader of the Nischinda Local Committee of a particular political party.The Single Judge Bench of...
The Calcutta High Court has allowed a criminal revision application filed by a Reporter and the Editor of Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika, seeking to quash the criminal proceedings instituted against them for running a story on forceful land possession by one Madan Mohan Manna, a leader of the Nischinda Local Committee of a particular political party.
The Single Judge Bench of Justice Siddhartha Roy Chowdhury observed that intention to harm the reputation, which is the basic ingredient for an offence of defamation under Section 499 IPC, is missing in this case. It thus set aside the order of Judicial Magistrate whereby process was issued against them.
Counsels for the petitioning Reporter and Editor had argued that the news publication was a piece of objective journalism and not defamation as the Reporter neither imputed any personal opinion in the publication nor was there any basis to show that there was any intention to expose the complainant to public hatred or ridicule.
Agreeing, Justice Chowdhury observed that mens rea is a condition precedent for establishing the offence of defamation. It observed:
"It is trite to say that to constitute an offence within the meaning of Section 499 of the I.P.C. there has to be imputation which is the basic requirement and such imputation shall have to be made in the manner as provided in the provision with the intention of causing harm or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of the person about whom it is made. Causing harm to the imputation of a person is the basis on which this offence of defamation is founded and like every criminal proceeding mens rea is a condition precedent to constitute such offence."
It added,
"The criminal offence, it goes without saying emphasis on the intention of harm. Section 44 of the Indian Penal Code defines injury and it denotes any harm whatever illegally caused any person in body, mind, reputation or property. In the absence of any ingredient prima facie to show the mens rea of the accused persons to have the intention, knowledge or reason to believe that the report published in the daily newspaper, an offence within the meaning of Section 499 of the I.P.C. cannot be said to have been made out."
Within the factual matrix of the case, the Court found that the petitioners did not intend or have any reason to believe that the news report published by the Bengali daily would have harmed reputation of the complainant. Accordingly, the Court set aside the criminal proceedings initiated by the Judicial Magistrate against the petitioners, in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC.
Case: Samik Ghosh & Ors. v. State of West Bengal & Anr., CRR 3280 of 2006
Date: 17.11.2022
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Cal) 340