At what level of point does a joke become a legal wrong , legitimizing resort to defamation law?
Defamation is the act of communicating false statements about a person that injure the reputation of that person when observed through the eyes of ordinary man. Any false and unprivileged statement published or spoken deliberately, intentionally, with the intention to damage someone’s reputation is defamation.
A man’s reputation is widely treated as his property and such damage and loss are punishable by law. And there is a popular saying which goes like never try to destroy someone’s life with a lie when yours can be destroyed by a truth . When it’s written , printed material or pictures it is termed as Libel and when it’s spoken it is termed as Slander .
The main purpose or aim of the defamation law is to protect people’s reputation and it doesn’t end here what makes it rather difficult to achieve is how to balance this goal with conflicting demands for freedom of expression. Since both of them are highly regarded in our society the former as perhaps the most cherished trait of civilized humans, and the latter as the bedrock of democratic society.
The term defamation has been derived from the Latin word diffamare which means circulating or spreading information about an individual which could harm the reputation of the person concerned.
History of defamation can be traced back to Roman and German law. Abusive chants and speech were capitally punishable in Roman. In Italy , defamation is a criminally punishable and truth seldom excuses defamation.
Article 19 of the Indian constitution grants various freedom to its citizens but Article 19(2) has imposed reasonable restrictions to freedom of speech and expressions granted under article 19(1)(a) . Contempt of court , defamation and incitement to an offence are some exceptions.
DEFAMATION LAW IN INDIA
Defamation in India can be counted in both Civil and Criminal offence. But as a matter of fact Criminal law of defamation is codified but civil law of defamation is not. If we talk about Civil law, defamation is covered by the Torts law and in the Criminal law it is covered by section 499 to 502 of the Indian Penal Code , 1860.
The Indian Penal Code preserves an individual’s integrity under chapter XXI sections 499 to 502 . Section 124A of the code prohibits defamation of the state which offence is termed as Sedition while Section 153 of the code prohibits defamation of a group for example a community and this offence is coined as Riot and Section 295A prohibits hate speech that offends religious sentiments which is known as Voice of Hatred .[1]
DEFAMATION IS DESCRIBED IN SECTION 499 OF THE IPC AS BEING COMMITTED:
- Through words that might be spoken or intended to be read .
- Signs
- Visible representation
Which are a published or spoken imputation concerning any person.
According to the Criminal Procedure Code, the offence of Defamation is non-cognizable and bailable which sets out the procedural elements of the law. Many people who are convicted of the crime will not be taken into custody without a warrant because the aggrieved party would not be able to immediately file a criminal report but would have to file a complaint with a judge in most of the cases.
While fact is commonly considered to be a defence to defamation as a civil offence but in the Criminal cases only truth will be regarded as a defence . This can make people especially vulnerable to being charged with defamation under the IPC even though the imputation they made were true . When it comes to defamation under the tort law, the emphasis is mostly concerned on Libel which is published defamation rather than being on Slander that is spoken defamation.
TO PROVE DEFAMATION IN THE TORT LAW FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS ARE THERE –
- Statements should be false;
- Statements should be published;
- Statements should be defamatory;
- And they should be released in order to establish that is libelous
A fascinating feature of defamation as a tort is that it is only a crime if the defamation is of a kind that damages the credibility of a living individual. In most cases, this means that defaming a dead person is not a tort because, in most cases, the plaintiff must be able to show that the defamatory words were directed at him.
But this does not rule out possibility of a cause of action if a deceased person is defamed, for example , if a defamatory comment damages the credibility of a deceased person’s successor , a defamation action can be pursued . And adding to this if the defamation suit is filed and defamation is found have occurred, damages will have to be awarded to the plaintiff. Furthermore an individual who is concerned about being defamed in a publication may request an injunction to stop the publication.
Now the court is rested with the final authority to enjoin the publishing of a Libel by an injunction or even an interlocutory injunction .
Moving forward to Criminal defamation in this mostly a simple imprisonment may be awarded. Under a criminal suit , intention to defame plays the most vital part . The allegation should be made with malice intent to defame another or atleast the knowledge that the publication might or is likely to defame another is necessary.
BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS LIKE:
- First exception is Imputation of truth which publication good requires to be made or published. Whether or not it is for public good I a question of fact.
- Second exception is Public conduct of public servants. It is not defamation to express in a good faith any opinion whatever respecting the conduct of a public servant in the discharge of his public functions, or respecting his character so far as his character appears in that conduct, and no further.
- Third exception is publication of reports of proceedings of the court .
Now if we talk about the Punishment of defamation. Section 500 of Indian Penal Code says whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment of for a term that may extend to two years , or with fine , or with both.
LANDMARK JUDGEMENTS OF DEFAMATION IN INDIA:
Ram Jethmalani Vs. Subramanian Swamy
The court held Swamy for defaming Ram Jethmalani by accusing him of receiving money from a banned organization to protect the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from the case of assassination of Rajiv Gandhi .
Anil Ambani Vs. Mukesh Ambani
Anil Ambani sued his brother Mukesh for damages of Rs 10,000 crore for certain libelous statements by the latter in an interview with New York Times . The American publication and some Indian papers which published them were also made respondents. Case was withdrawn after a truce between two brothers .[2]
Arun Jaitley Vs Arvind Kejriwal
The court held that statements made by Arvind Kejriwal and his other five leaders to be defamatory. The matter was sort out when all the defendants apologized for their actions.
Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India
It is a Landmark case regarding defamation on Internet . It held unconstitutional the Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 which punishes for sending offensive messages through communication services .
CONCLUSION:
Reputation is an asset to each and every one of us. And any damage to such asset can be legally dealt with. Defamation laws are created for people who use their freedom to speech and expressions maliciously .
Replacing criminal sanctions with civil one cannot fulfil the criteria to balance freedom of speech and expressions with freedom of reputation. The main idea behind balancing the rights should be to exercise one’s freedom of speech and expressions without compromising the reputation of a person in eyes of the public.
Intentional act of defamation is also punished with imprisonment which prohibits defaming a person with malice intention. The defamation law is also constitutional and is reasonable restriction on the right to free speech and expression. However, it is no defamation if the acts done fall within the exceptions provided. Over the seventy one years of Independence, there are has been numerous cases of defamation and the court has interpreted each and every case with utmost care and they serve as precedents.
[1] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1041742/
[2] https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/five-defamation-cases-that-rocked-corporate-world-116112200499_1.html
YLCC would like to thank Ashlesha Singhal for her valuable insights in this article.
