The Madras High Court has observed that defamation cases have become “tool of intimidation” by some powerful politicians and corporates and has quashed such proceedings against two journalists and an English daily.
Justice G R Swaminathan, who quashed the proceedingsrecently, said such “cases are used as tools to intimidate themedia.”
“The higher judiciary could not desert its duty when itcomes to protection of fundamental rights and the freedom of the press,”the judge said.
“The Judiciary will have to take the role of anactivist as criminal defamation proceedings have become a tool of intimidationbefore corporate bodies and powerful politicians whose pockets are tunnel deepand whose hands are long that even media houses (that) have good resources havecapitulated,” he said.
V V Minerals had filed defamation proceedings against thedaily, objecting to an article published by the newspaper in July 2015.
A local court in Tirunelveli had issued summons to fourpeople–the journalist who authored the report, and the Editor of the daily, agrievance cell officer of the newspaper and the journalist’s husband.
Observing mere minor inaccuracies in reporting cannotjustify initiating prosecution proceedings,the judge said: “There canalways be margin of error, though the permissible width of the margin willdepend on facts and circumstances.”
“The errors in the proceedings included all the fournot residing within the jurisdiction of the Tirunelveli Judicial Magistrate1,” he said.
That being the case, how could it issue summons to them, theJudge wondered.
Besides, the court should have returned the defamationcomplaint as it was defective since the accused had not been named in personwith appropriate description.
“The magistrate appears to have mechanically takencognizance of the offences even without noting” that the grievancesredressal officer and the editor have not been named in person at all, theJudge said.
The article was published in the wake of a notice issued bythe High court on a PIL relating to irregularities in beach sand mining, hepointed out.
The media can carry a story on the issue when the High courtissued notice based on the allegations made by a litigant and when the issuewas raised as a public question.”The media is entitled to carry story onthe same,” he said. Further, the author of the article had reached out toV Vaikundarajan of V V Minerals and published his response also on the samearticle, he said.