O R D E R

The defendant in O.S. No.779 of 1998 on the file of the Principal Munsiff's Court I, Kozhikode is the appellant in this appeal. The respondent is the plaintiff in the suit. The trial court passed the decree directing the defendant to pay an amount of Rs.2,000/- with interest to the plaintiff as damages. The judgment and decree passed by the trial court were confirmed by the lower appellate court in A.S. No.95 of 2001. Aggrieved by the above judgment of the court below, the defendant preferred this appeal. The parties are referred to as the plaintiff and defendant as in the suit.

2. The suit was filed by the plaintiff praying for a decree of damages for the loss of reputation suffered by him due to the slander made by the defendant against him. The allegation is that on 27.9.1998, the defendant shouted at the plaintiff saying that he had stolen money from the defendant's shop and called him a thief. It is further alleged that within a few minutes of the incident, the money alleged to have been stolen by the plaintiff was recovered from the drawer of the table in the shop of the defendant. Instantly it was revealed that the plaintiff had not stolen the money as alleged by th