Exposing corruption is "for public good" and news article written for the same without any "ulterior motives" cannot be termed as libellous, a Delhi court has said while absolving an editor and a co-editor of a local weekly of the charges of causing defamation.The court said the first exception to section 499 of the IPC (defamation) requires to be seen whether the imputation is for public good and added that exposing corruption “certainly” falls under that category.
It said there may be cases where the expose is made with ulterior motives but it needs to be proved by the complainant. “Exposing corruption of the government department is certainly for public good. It is the duty of every responsible citizen to expose corruption.” “There may be certain cases where an individual or any other body of individual or corporate body exposes corruption for seeking revenge or for ulterior motives. In such cases the ulterior motives have to be proved by the complainant,” said Metropolitan Magistrate Rajinder Singh.
The court's order came on a defamation case filed by a former Indian Institute of Public Administration professor, seeking prosecution of the editors of Jan Vikas, a Delhi-based weekly, for publishing a news 'No action by municipality despite court orders'. The complainant told the court that the “libellous” news naming him was published in December 2007. The article was about “unauthorised constructions” in South Extension-I, a posh south Delhi locality, he said. The complainant said the newspaper editor, who had also been his tenant, was involved in a property dispute with him and was “vindictive” against him.
The editor and co-editor of the weekly, however, denied the charges contending that the article was published in “good faith” for exposing corruption in public good. They said the article did not target any individual and apart from complainant it also carried reference to other properties. “The said article was meant to highlight the inaction of authorities,” they contended.
The court after going through the news item concluded that “on a wholesome reading of article, it appears that the article does not specifically target any individual, although it refers the complainant by name”. It said the article emphasis upon the “inaction of the MCD” and “there is no material on record to show or prove that the article was written by the accused persons out of malice”.
The court's order came on a defamation case filed by a former Indian Institute of Public Administration professor, seeking prosecution of the editors of Jan Vikas, a Delhi-based weekly, for publishing a news 'No action by municipality despite court orders'. The complainant told the court that the “libellous” news naming him was published in December 2007. The article was about “unauthorised constructions” in South Extension-I, a posh south Delhi locality, he said. The complainant said the newspaper editor, who had also been his tenant, was involved in a property dispute with him and was “vindictive” against him.
The editor and co-editor of the weekly, however, denied the charges contending that the article was published in “good faith” for exposing corruption in public good. They said the article did not target any individual and apart from complainant it also carried reference to other properties. “The said article was meant to highlight the inaction of authorities,” they contended.
The court after going through the news item concluded that “on a wholesome reading of article, it appears that the article does not specifically target any individual, although it refers the complainant by name”. It said the article emphasis upon the “inaction of the MCD” and “there is no material on record to show or prove that the article was written by the accused persons out of malice”.
The educational funding office certifies each student's eligibility for federal aid online, processes the application form and sends it towards the Department
ReplyDeleteof Education with a secure system online my website first, the danger involved for the borrower in pledging his
home as collateral; and second, most of these currently
have other debts running against their residence that they have no equity
left.
There are numerous places online that you are able to play poker Super Real but the truth that
ReplyDeletecredit is eligible is a major boost, hence the extra
price is generally worth the cost.
Hey just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the images aren't loading correctly.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I've tried it in two different browsers
and both show the same results.
my homepage :: minecraft
Good day! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be
ReplyDeleteokay. I'm absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new
updates.
Review my homepage quest bars
I'm not sure exactly why but this weblog is loading very slow
ReplyDeletefor me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end?
I'll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
Feel free to visit my site :: quest bars
Thanks for the auspicious writeup. It in reality used to be a leisure account it.
ReplyDeleteGlance complicated to more introduced agreeable from you!
By the way, how could we be in contact?
my web page :: Diet Plans for Women
There's certainly a great deal to learn about this topic.
ReplyDeleteI really like all the points you made.
Here is my web site - Diet Plans for Women
My coder is trying to persuade me to move
ReplyDeleteto .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses.
But he's tryiong none the less. I've been using Movable-type
on several websites for about a year and am
worried about switching to another platform.
I have heard good things about blogengine.net.
Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it?
Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
My blog post: best dating sites