Defamation Cases For Reporting Details Of FIR Nothing But Attempt To Stifle Reporter

Case: Vijay and ors v Ravindra Ghisulal Gupta

Coram: Justice Vinay Joshi

Case No.: Criminal Application No. 393 Of 2022

Court Observation: “The responsibility of the Editor is to publish true facts and nothing else. The publisher is not expected to investigate the matter and ascertain the truthfulness of the First Information Report before publishing the news item,”

“Filing complaints about defamation on such news items are nothing but an attempt to shut up and stifle the Reporters /informants and to force them to withdraw the report filed against the persons who are allegedly defamed.”

“In the present case, it is blatantly obvious that there is no allegation against the present applicants that they were having knowledge of the publication of such imputation or that they were directly responsible for the publication of such imputation…By any stretch of imagination, the liability of publication cannot be stretched to the applicants unless a case of conspicuous malice is made out.”

“No doubt, publication of news on a rumour or on hear-say information having no iota of truth is fatal to a Journalist. Herein it is not the case that First Information Report was not at all registered or the distorted news item was published,”

“It is the primary function of the Press to provide comprehensive and correct information, especially when it is brought into the public domain. Freedom of the Press is implied from the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. In other words, the freedom of making a true report regarding the affairs which are in the public domain is a right, which flows from the freedom of speech. The action of defamation about true and faithful reporting is unhealthy for a democratic setup,”

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