ORDER :

The petitioner is the 3rd accused in C.C.No.18/2018 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Pathanamathitta which was instituted on the basis of a complaint submitted by the 1st respondent for the offences punishable under Section 500 r/w. Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

2. The basic allegation in Annexure-1 private complaint is relating to certain defamatory statements alleged to have been made by the 1st accused, the editor and anchor of Asianet News, a Malayalam T.V. news channel, against certain Advocates who are the members of Thiruvananthapuram Bar Association. The 1st respondent herein is a lawyer practicing at Thiruvananthapuram and also the Secretary of Thiruvananthapuram Bar Association. It was alleged in Annexure-1 complaint that, the statements made by the 1st accused during the News Hour programme at 9 a.m. on 15.10.2016, to the effect that, the lawyers have committed atrocities inside the court room and the 1st respondent herein has acted like a goonda etc are defamatory in nature. It was also averred in the said complaint that, the aforesaid statements are incorrect and were made by the 1st accused with the intention to defame the l