( 1 ) THIS Rule is for quashing the proceedings under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, pending before Sri K. K. Roy, Magistrate, 1st Class, Cooch Behar, in Case No. C. R. 28 of 1966 under Section 500 I. P. C. as not maintainable in law and on merits.

( 2 ) THE facts leading on to the Rule are chequered but can be put in a short compass. The complainant, Rajat Kanti Bhadra, who described himself as a member of the Shoulmari Ashram, filed a complaint under Section 500 I. P. C, in the Court of the learned Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Cooch Behar against two accused persons viz. , Sookomal Kanti Ghosh, Editor of a Bengali Daily called the "jugantar" and Dhirendranath Sen, the printer and publisher of the same. The impugned publication is an item of news purported to have been served by the P. T. I, and U. N. I, and appeared in the issue of the Jugantar dated the 7th December, 1965, under the sub-heading "shoulmari Sadhu", the English translation whereof is as follows: "the Foreign Minister stated that the Sadhu of Shoulmari who calls himself Subhas Chandra Bose, is not Netaji and the Government has not the least doubt about this fact that he is not". It was aver