O R D E R

The accused in C.C.No.728 of 2018 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Taliparamba, a lawyer cum journalist, has filed this petition under section 482 Cr.P.C to quash the proceedings in the said case.

2. The allegation against the petitioner is that he made a speech at a gathering of journalists at Kozhikode on 20.10.2016 denigrating the lawyer community and thereby committed the offence under Section 500 I.P.C. The above speech was made at a time when there existed strife between the lawyers and journalists in Kerala in connection with some incidents of tussle between them. According to the complainant, a practising lawyer at Taliparamba, who preferred this private complaint against the petitioner, the petitioner compared the lawyer community with street dogs in the above speech which was published and telecasted by the print and visual media.

The above complaint was taken into files by the learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, Taliparamba and summons ordered to the accused.

3. In the present petition, the petitioner would contend that