1. Petitioner is a Television Journalist by profession and working as Executive Editor in Television Channel Headlines Today . The respondent No.1 is an Army Officer of the rank of Brigadier and claims to have served in Army with distinction during his service carrier stretching over a period of over 34 years. The respondents No.2 is a businessman by profession, who according to respondent No.1 is allegedly involved in number of cases relating to swindling of public property and frequently shifting residence to escape public and police.

2. Petitioner seeks quashment of order of learned Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Jammu-Special Mobile Magistrate Passenger Tax, Jammu dated 23rd September, 2010 taking cognizance of offence punishable under Section 500 RPC on a complaint filed by respondent No.1 and the criminal proceedings initiated against the petitioner and the respondent No.2.

3. The background facts need to be gone through, in the first instance.

4. The Television Channel Headlines Today on 24th July, 2010 telecast a panel discussion between the petitioner, Lieutenant General (retd.) B.S.Malik, Mr. Shiv Aroorcorrespondent of a newspaper and Mr.Manoj Joshi, Deputy Editor Mail Today. The Panel was handed over a copy of the complaint by the representee in the programme by the petitioner, allegedly addressed by the respondent No.2 to Chief of the Army Staff sometime in April, 2010 levelling allegations of threats extended by respondent No.1 to the respondent No.2 and pointing to business dealings between the respondent No.1 and respondent No.2. The Television Channel also handed over the panel a recorded telephonic conversation between the respondents. The 3 panel during the telecast went through the complaint and also heard the telephonic conversation between the respondents. The contents of the complaint and the conversation were shared by the Television Channel through the panel with the viewers. The panel, as admitted in the present petition, discussed factual matrix of the complaint and the conversation. The panel also made a general discussion of declining values in the armed forces and need to maintain highest standard of discipline among the armed forces . One of the panellist, as admitted in the petition on hand (para-v), observed that the conversation between the respondents was deplorable and un-becoming of an Army Officer and that he would be liable to be punished .

5. The respondent No.1 aggrieved with aforesaid telecast dated 20th of July, 2010 filed a complaint under Section 500 RPC read with section 499 RPC before learned Chief Judicial Magistrate on 15.9.2000. Copy of legal notice served by respondent No.1 through his advocate Ms. Madahvi Raina dated 17th August, 2010, copy of the complaint lodged by Ms. Meera resident of 558-59, Subash Nagar Market, New Delhi on 8.6.2000 with 4 SHO, Police Station, Moti Nagar, New Delhi were appended to the complaint. The complaint was transferred to Judicial Magistrate Ist Class Passenger Tax, Jammu. Learned Magistrate on the date of receipt of complaint recorded a statement of complainant (respondent No.1) and his witness-Raj Bhadur Singh Royal. The compact disc (CD) of telecasted programme in question, and bio-data of respondent No.1 were also annexed with the complaint. The respondent No.1 spelt out grievances in paras 15 to 17 of the complaint. It may be reproduced hereunder:

15) That the complainant most emphatically states that the allegations levelled by the accused no.1 against the complainant in the letter written to the Chief of the Army Staff and the telephonic conversation as telecast by accused no.1 on 20.07.2010 in the TV programme are false, frivolous and per se defamatory and these allegations have caused tremendous humiliation and mental distress to the complainant and also caused irreparable damage to the reputation of the complainant in the society, in his relations, friends and in army circle. The overall import of the said TV programme telecast along with the

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