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HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU
SANJAY DHAR
Sanjay Gupta – Appellant
Versus
Prem Kumar – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
SANJAY DHAR, J.
01. The petitioners, through the medium of the present petition, have challenged the complaint filed by the respondent against them alleging commission of offences under Section 500 RPC which is stated to be pending before the court of learned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Samba, (hereinafter referred as ‘trial Magistrate’). Challenge has also been thrown to order dated 24.04.2017 passed by the learned trial Magistrate whereby process has been issued against the petitioners.
02. It appears that a complaint came to be filed by the respondent against the petitioners before the learned trial Magistrate alleging therein that the respondent/complainant is a business man dealing in repairing of computers having his shop at Ramgarh, Samba. It was further alleged that petitioner No. 1-Sanjay Gupta is owner of newspaper Dainik Jagran whereas petitioner No. 2-Abhimanyu Sharma, is the Chief Editor of said newspaper.
03. It was alleged that the petitioners without going into the truth of the matter published a news item that the respondent is an over ground worker of militants and that he along with other persons was taken into custody. In the news item it was further a
The publication of defamatory statements without substantiation violates the rights of the affected person, and intention or knowledge regarding reputational harm suffices for establishing defamation....
The court held that a news report published in good faith, including the complainant's version, does not constitute defamation under IPC Sections 499-501.
Defamation requires specific allegations and evidence of reputational harm; failure to conduct a mandatory inquiry before issuing summons renders the proceedings invalid.
Point of Law : By virtue of section 7 of PRB Act, the petitioners herein are having some responsibility for each and every statements made in the publication, irrespective of the nature of such publi....
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