Jammu, Apr 30: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has dismissed a plea filed by a local newspaper’s management and correspondent against cognizance by a trial court in a defamation suit filed by DAV School in Magarmal Bagh here over two news reports published on 16 October 2015 and 30 December 2016 respectively.
The DAV Management through Tej Krishan Ganjoo, acting in his capacity as “Chairman of the Management Committee” of School filed criminal complaint under section 500 of the Ranbir Penal Code before Judicial Magistrate Ist Class (Sub Judge), Jammu alleging the two news items were defamatory in all its intent and import.
“Upon receipt of the requisite inquiry report, the trial Court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class (Sub Judge), Jammu came to hold that a prima-facie case is made out for taking cognizance and issuance of process to the accused persons so named in the complaint and they being the Editor of the newspaper ….., Printer/Publisher of the newspaper …..and Author of the news article and, accordingly, directed issuance of process against the petitioners vide an order dated 03.05.2017,” a bench of Justice Rahul Bharti said.
“By this definition of person in the J&K Ranbir Penal Code, the Management Committee of an Educational Institution can also reckon itself to be a victim of defamation at the hands of a person who comes forward with any publication or oral representation bearing imputation intending to harm or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of such body of person identified as Management Committee of a well respected Educational Institution,” the court said, adding, “When this Court examines the contents of the two news items in which the intent and import is as if the management committee of the DAV Trust has sold out the school premises which is housed on a Govt. granted land and for that purpose even a figure of Rs. 13 crores as price fetched gets mentioned in the news items but without any corresponding or contemporary reference to record on the basis of which the allegations are so being stated in the news items, then surely the reputation of the Management Committee of the DAV Institution comes under bad light in the eyes of the readers/consumers of the news items.”
The court said that while the intent and impression of the two news items as per the complainant is what constitutes the defamation, it is not for it to now substitute itself in place of the trial court of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class (Sub Judge), Jammu to appreciate the defence of the petitioners in response to the criminal complaint.
“The petitioners may have a defence at their disposal on the merits of the case including locus of the petitioners, the bona fide of their news items on the basis of supporting Govt. record but that all is a matter of the trial for the trial court to take care of and not for this Court to exercise inherent power under section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Svt., 1989 to decode the defence of the petitioners in answer to the criminal complaint so filed,” the court said and dismissed the plea challenging cognizance by the trial court.
