ORDER :

V. BHARATHIDASAN, J.

1. The Criminal Original Petitions have been filed challenging the private complaints filed against the petitioners for the offences under Sections 34, 35, 499, 500, 501 and 502 of IPC, Section 7 of The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 and Section 2(31) of The Indian Companies Act, 1956, in STC No. 45 of 2017, pending on the file of the learned Judicial Magistrate, Tiruchendur. The petitioners, who have been arrayed as A1 to A5 respectively, are before this Court with the instant petitions.

2. The petitioners in Crl. O.P. (MD) No. 1246 of 2019 are A1 and A2, the Chairman of SUN Network. The petitioner in Crl. O.P. (MD) No. 1298 of 2017 is the Managing Director of KAL Publication Private Limited arrayed as A-3. The petitioner in Crl. O.P. (MD) No. 1299 of 2017, the Editor, Printer and Publisher of Dinakaran, a Tamil Daily Newspaper, is A-4. The petitioner in Crl. O.P. (MD) No. 1300 of 2017, the Reporter of the Dinakaran Newspaper at Tiruchendur, is A-5.

3. The facts leading to the filing of the present petitions for quashing the criminal proceedings, in brief, are as follows:-

(i) The respondent herein filed a private complaint against the petitioner