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2009 Supreme(MP) 830
HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
Mr. Justice Rajendra Menon
DOMINIQUE LAPIERRE
VS.
SWARAJ PURI
M. A. No. 3017/2009
Decided On: August 7, 2009
The main legal point established in the judgment is the need to scrutinize the material tendered by the defendants in a defamation case to test its veracity and find out whether it is made bona fide and in public interest, especially when the defense of truth as justification for the fair and reasonable criticism is raised.
Headnote:
Defamation - Injunction - Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC - [DEFAMATION] - [CIVIL PROCEDURE] - [Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC] - The court discussed the grant of temporary injunction under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC in a defamation case involving defamatory statements made in a book and the defense of truth as justification for the fair and reasonable criticism. The court emphasized the need to scrutinize the material tendered by the defendants to test its veracity and find out whether it is made bona fide and in public interest. The court held that the defendants may have justification to substantiate the defamatory statements and, therefore, injunction could not be granted.
Fact of the Case:
The respondent, a Senior IPS officer, filed a suit seeking declaration and injunction for defamatory statements made in a book. The appellants justified their comments by pleading truth as a defense.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the defendants may have justification to substantiate the defamatory statements and, therefore, injunction could not be granted.
Issues: The main issue was whether the grant of temporary injunction under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC was justified in a defamation case involving defamatory statements made in a book.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the need to scrutinize the material tendered by the defendants to test its veracity and find out whether it is made bona fide and in public interest. The defense of truth as justification for the fair and reasonable criticism was considered in reaching the decision.
Final Decision: The court allowed the application seeking stay of the impugned order and directed a stay of the impugned order pending final disposal of the appeal. The respondent was granted four weeks to file a reply or additional documents, and the appeal was directed to be listed for final hearing immediately thereafter.
RAJENDRA MENON, J.
( 1 ) HEARD.
( 2 ) THIS is an appeal under Order 43 Rule 1 (r) of the Code of Civil Procedure assailing the grant of temporary injunction made by the 14th Additional District judge, Jabalpur on 13. 7. 2009, in Civil Suit No. 3-A/2009. The appeal was admitted for hearing on 31. 7. 2009 and it is listed today for consideration of I. A. No. 8213/ 2009, an application seeking stay of the impugned order of injunction, temporary in nature, granted under Order 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC.
( 3 ) SUIT in question was filed by the respondent plaintiff, who at the relevant time was said to be working as Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), government of Madhya Pradesh. The suit was filed for declaration and injunction for restraining the defendants, appellants herein, from publishing and circulating a book titled "it Was Five Past Midnight in Bhopal". It is stated that the said book was authored by defendants 1 and 2 (appellants 1 and 2 herein) and was printed and published by defendant No. 3 (appellant No. 3 herein ). The book pertained to an industrial disaster which took place at Bhopal in the night intervening 2nd and 3rd of March 1984, when certain poisonous gas from a Plant owned by M/s Union carbide leaked, causing widespread damage to public property, human life and destruction of animals. The tragedy is classified as one of the worst "industrial disasters ever to have occurred in the world. Be that as it may, at the relevant time when the aforesaid mishap occurred, plaintiff respondent was holding the post of Superintendent of Police, in Bhopal city and in the book in question certain acts of the plaintiff in the discharge of his official duties as Superintendent of Police are criticized and he is shown to have not taken proper steps in the discharge of his duties.
( 4 ) INTERALIA contending that the statement made relating to the plaintiff are false, distorted and presented in a manner which is defamatory in nature, lowers the dignity of the plaintiff and presents him before the society at large in a manner which would result in lowering his reputation and image before the general public, his friends, family and acquaintances. Claiming certain statements made in the book to be defamatory in nature, the suit in question was filed seeking declaration and injunction in the following manner:
" (i) It is, therefore, most humbly prayed that this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to declare that the afore-quoted portions of the book in question are false, baseless and defamatory. (ii) That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant a decree of permanent prohibitory injunction restraining the defendants from printing, publishing, selling or circulating the aforesaid book - 'it Was five Past Midnight in Bhopal' in any manner either themselves or through their agents in any part of the world. "
( 5 ) THE defamatory statements used, are indicated in paragraphs 235, 316, 329. 336 and 337 of the Book, which reads as under:
"at Page 235 - "don't you worry, I could feed the whole city" he informed the police Chief who had come to make sure that his troops would be adequately fed. At Page 316 - Yet calls were coming in one after another without interruption in the command room on the second floor. One of them was from Arjun Singh, Chief Minister of Madhya pradesh. Rumour had it that he had left his official residence and taken refuge outside the city. Arjun Singh was calling in by Radio to speak to the Police chief, Swaraj Puri. "you must stop people leaving", the head of the Government intimated to him. "put barricades across all the roads leading out of the city and make people go back to their homes. " the Chief Minister, it seemed, had no idea of the chaos prevailing in Bhopal that night. In any case Puri had a good argument to put to him. Sir, he answered, - "how can I stop people leaving when my own policemen have disappeared along with the other fugitives?"
At Page 329 - Out side the situation w
