"Supreme Court Affirms: Accusations Made in Good Faith to Lawful Authority Not Defamatory"
The Supreme Court has recently reiterated a significant legal principle, emphasizing that allegations lodged against an individual in a complaint, carried out in good faith and directed towards those possessing lawful authority over the person in question, shall not be deemed as an act of defamation. The court's reaffirmation of this stance came during the case of Kishore Balkrishna Nand v. State of Maharashtra and Another.
A Division Bench consisting of Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra presided over the matter, which pertained to an appeal challenging a 2009 verdict issued by the Bombay High Court. The High Court's decision had declined to annul the issuance of legal process by a magistrate in a case involving alleged defamation.
In a precise analysis, the court highlighted the significance of Exception 8 to Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This exception underscores that making an accusation against an individual in good faith to those possessing lawful authority concerning the subject of the accusation does not constitute defamation.
The origin of the case lay in a written complaint submitted by the appellant to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate. The complaint alleged that the respondent had encroached upon a parcel of land while establishing a shop. In response, the respondent initiated a defamation suit, which resulted in a magistrate issuing summons to the appellant.
Subsequently, the appellant filed an application that led to the recall of the issued summons by the magistrate. However, the sessions court reviewed and overturned this "recall" decision. The appellant then took the matter to the Bombay High Court, which ultimately dismissed the appeal, prompting the appellant to approach the apex court.
Upon thorough examination, the Supreme Court determined that no grounds existed to subject the appellant to a trial for the alleged defamation offense. Moreover, the court assessed the content of the complaint and concluded that it did not give rise to a case of defamation against the appellant.
In light of these findings, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the High Court's order and nullifying the summons issued to the appellant by the magistrate.
Advocate Anshuman Ashok represented the appellant during the proceedings, while Advocate Aaditya Aniruddha Pande appeared on behalf of the State. This ruling from the apex court solidifies the principle that sincere accusations made to those with lawful authority cannot be misconstrued as acts of defamation."
Click Here to: Download/View Related File
TAGS: Supreme Court good faith accusations lawful authority defamation case review Bombay High Court Section 499 IPC Exception 8 Kishore Balkrishna Nand v. State of Maharashtra Division Bench appellant respondent summons legal process analysis verdict apex court Advocate Anshuman Ashok Advocate Aaditya Aniruddha Pande.
