The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement to prove that the imputations had lowered the character of the victim in the estimation of others to establish the offence of defamation under Section 500 IPC.

ORDER :

[COMMON PRAYER : Criminal Original Petitions have been filed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, to call for the records in C.C.Nos.8360, 8357 of 2017 on the file of the XIV Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, Chennai and quash the same.]

The petitions are to quash the complaints filed for the offence under Section 500 IPC by the persons aggrieved by the publications made by the accused in the March 2017 Edition of Tamil Magazine called “Sindhanai Murasu”.

2. It is alleged in the complaints that the respondents in the above Criminal Original Petitions were defamed by the publications made in the said Magazine; that the petitioner was shown as a person in charge of the said Magazine. Broadly, the allegations in the complaints are that the Magazine had published an article, accusing the respondent in both the petitions herein of misappropriation of the funds of Sri Agastheeswarar Prasanna Venkatesaperumal Devasthanam (APVP) Trust in their capacity as permanent Trustees. The respondents, therefore, had filed separate complaints alleging defamation.

3. Mr. P.T. Perumal, the learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that in the impugned complaints necessary ingredient for the offence under Section 500 IPC that the publication had lowered the moral or intellectual character of the respondent in the estimation of others has not been made. In order to satisfy whether the allegation constitutes the offence of defamation, the learned Magistrate has to conduct an inquiry under Section 202 Cr.P.C., in all cases of defamation. The learned counsel further submitted that, in any event, the petitioner is not the person who would be liable as he is not the Printer or Publisher or Editor found in the statutory declaration. There is no allegation that he was responsible for the selection of the article. The learned counsel relied upon the following Judgments in support of his submission:-

4. Mr. N. Gnanalingam, the learned counsel for the respondents, submitted that the allegation in the complaint is that the respondents were defamed in the publication. The publication states that the respondents misappropriated funds of Sri Agastheeswarar Prasanna Venkatesaperumal (APVP) in their capacity as permanent Trustees. The said publication is bound to lower the character of the respondents in the estimation of others. In the impugned complaints, there are necessary allegations to attract the offence under Section 500 IPC. As regards the role played by the petitioner, the learned counsel for the respondents pointed out another publication made in the same Magazine wherein the Editor had stated that their publication about the respondents was based on the false information given by the petitioner and that they were tendering unconditional apology for the said publication. In the said publication, they had also stated that subsequently they came to know that the petitioner on account of prior enmity with the respondents, had spread false news about the respondents. Hence, the learned counsel prayed for the dismissal of the quash petition.

5. The offence of defamation is defined under Section 499 IPC which reads as follows:-

“499. Defamation - Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or kno