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285th Report of Law Commission recommends Criminal defamation to be retained as part of new criminal laws | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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285th Report of Law Commission recommends Criminal defamation to be retained as part of new criminal laws

Posted 03 Feb 2024

Updated 19 Mar 2024

2 min read

  • It highlighted that reputation flows from Article 21, and being a facet of right to life and personal liberty, needs to be adequately protected against defamatory speech and imputations.
    • Defamation is considered a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2) to the freedom of speech and expression in Article 19(1)(a) 

 

  • Defamation is any false statement published or spoken deliberately, intentionally, knowingly with the intention to damage someone’s reputation.
    • In India, defamation is categorized as either criminal or civil.
      • Under criminal defamation, individuals can be charged with an offence punishable by imprisonment or a fine.
      • Civil defamation, on the other hand, involves filing a lawsuit seeking compensation for damages caused by defamatory statements.

 

  • Legal and constitutional Provisions of Criminal Defamation
    • The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 has comprehensive provisions pertaining to criminal defamation from Section 499-502.
      • Section 499: deals with overall definition of defamation.
      • Section 500: deals with punishment upto 2 years imprisonment or fine or both.
        • The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 adds community service as punishment as well.
    • Section 124A of IPC includes defamation against the state as an offence of Sedition.

 

Supreme Court (SC) Judgements 

  • Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India (2016) supreme court upheld  section 499 to be constitutionally valid
  • Chaman Lal v. State of Punjab (1970), SC established the criteria for proving good faith and bona fide in defamation cases.
  • Tags :
  • Criminal defamation
  • Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India (2016)
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