SC says time has come to decriminalise defamation

The Supreme Court on Monday (September 22) stated that the time has come to decriminalise the offence of defamation. The remark was made by the bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma during the hearing of a petition that challenged the summons issued to online news portal The Wire.

The summons was issued to The Wire in relation to a defamation case filed by former professor Amita Singh of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), reported the Bar and Bench.

"I think time has come to decriminalise all this…," said Justice Sundresh as quoted in the report.

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BNS Section 356 criminalised defamation

Defamation is a criminal offence under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The section under BNS replaced the earlier IPC provision of Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The apex court in 2016 had upheld the validity of Section 499 of IPC following challenges to the constitutionality to the provision by various politicians, including Subramanian Swamy, Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal.

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Reported dossier on JNU

The current defamation case stems from The Wire’s news report alleging that Professor Amita Singh headed a group of JNU teachers who had compiled a 200-page dossier that described JNU as a "den of organised sex racket".

The news report stated that the dossier was titled ‘Jawaharlal Nehru University: The Den of Secessionism and Terrorism', adding that it was submitted to the JNU administration, where a section of JNU faculty members were accused of promoting a decadent culture in the university by legitimising separatist movements in India, reported the Bar and Bench.

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Defamation case filed in 2016

Subsequently, Singh filed a criminal defamation case against The Wire and its reporter in 2016, stated the report. The news portal was issued summons by a magistrate in relation to the case in February 2017.

However, the Supreme Court had set aside the summons and asked the magistrate to take a fresh call on the issuance of the summons after analysing the new article.

The magistrate again issued a summons to The Wire and its political affairs editor Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, in January which was upheld by the Delhi High Court on May 7, leading to the current challenge before the Supreme Court.

At the outset of the hearing, the Supreme Court questioned the prolonged pendency of the case, stating, "How long will you go on dragging this?"

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal responded, saying, "Similar matter is being considered. Rahul Gandhi’s case." The court then issued notice in relation to the case.