21 July 2020

The ICFAI University, Dehradun

Legal Internship Programme, 2023

Name – Richa Sharma

En.Id – 19FLICDDN01141

Batch Name & Year – BBA.LLB (H.) 2019 - 24

Title – Defamation

Submitted By – Richa Sharma

Submitted To – Mr, Aditya Tomar

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INDEX

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGE NO.

INTRODUCTION 2
ELEMENTS OF DEFAMATION 3
DAMAGES IN DEFAMATION 4
KINDS OF DEFAMATION 5
UNDER ENGLISH & INDIAN LAW 6
DEFENSES UNDER DEFAMATION 6
FIVE LEADING CASES 9

INTRODUCTION
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DEFAMATION

 Defamation1 is an injury to a person. If a person injury the reputation of another, he

does so at his own risk as in the case of interference with the property. A man’s
reputation is his property, and if possible, more valuable than other property.in some
jurisdiction defamation is treated as civil2 wrong.

 Injury only to feelings is not defamation; there must be loss of reputation. The
defamed person need not be named but must be ascertainable. A class of persons is
considered defamed ifDefamation is criminally punishable under various statutes, but
to be criminally punishable, it must be such as would provoke a breach of the peace or
in some other way directly prejudice the public interest3. particular members are
specially imputed.

1
Known as calumny,vilification,lible,salander,traducement
2
Cause of action under the law of governing body
3
Welfare of general public and society
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Elements of defamation are

 The defendant published the statement.

The defendant uttered or distributed it to at least one person other than the plaintiff. You
don’t need to be a media mogul to be a publisher4. If you publish something on the Internet,
you can assume that this requirement has been met.

 The statement is about the plaintiff.

The statement need not name the person explicitly if there is enough identifying information
that those who know the person will recognize the statement as being about him or her.

 The statement harmed the reputation of the plaintiff, as opposed to being merely
insulting or offensive.

Generally speaking, a defamatory statement is a false5 statement of fact that exposes a person
to hatred, ridicule or contempt, lowers him in the esteem of his peers, causes him to be
shunned, or injures him in his business or trade.

 The statement was published with some level of fault.

Fault requires that the defendant did something he should not have done or failed to do
something he should have. Depending on the circumstances, the plaintiff will either need to
prove that the defendant acted negligently,The level of fault that must be proven is discussed
in the Actual Malice and Negligence section of the legal guide.

 The statement was published without any applicable privilege6.

A number of privileges may be available depending on what the defendant published and the
source(s) he relied on for the information.

4
Wilson vs Bauer media pt.ltd (2017)
5
Mahi vs dawnSingh 2 july,
6
Limiting access
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Damages for Defamation

In most states, the plaintiff must also prove that the defamatory statement caused him or her
actual damage. Actual damages7 include such things as the loss of a job because of the
defamatory statement, but can also include mental anguish or suffering associated with the
defamation.

 States or implies that an unmarried person is unchaste (e.g., is sexually active);

 States or implies that a person is infected with a sexually transmitted disease; or
 States or implies that the person has committed a crime of moral turpitude (e.g., theft
or fraud).
 If a plaintiff succeeds in proving defamation, he or she is entitled to recover what is
called compensatory damage, which is the payment of money to compensate the
plaintiff for the wrong that has been done. This includes not only out-of-pocket
expenses (e.g., doctor's bills), but also personal humiliation, mental anguish and
suffering, and lost wages and benefits if the defamation caused the plaintiff to lose
employment. In limited circumstances, a plaintiff may also be able to recover
punitive8 damages, which are awarded in addition to compensatory damages and are
intended to punish the defendant.

7
Actual malice

8
Egregious (purpose is to show the court disapproval)
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KINDS OF DEFAMATION

 Lible
 Salander

LIBLE

 Libel9 relates to a defamatory publication which is permanent. Most Obviously this

includes written material (books, newspaper, and magazine, articles or material
published online), as well as allegations appearing on TV or radio.
 Libel is an untrue defamatory statement that is made in written or any other visual
symbols in a print or electronic (online or Internet-based) medium.

SALANDER

 Slander10 relates to more transient publications, principally spoken words or even

physical gestures.
 Slander is an untrue defamatory statement that is spoken orally.

Examples of slander include: Claiming a person is gay, lesbian, or bisexual, when it is untrue,
in an attempt to harm his or her reputation. Telling someone that a certain person cheated on
his taxes, or committed tax fraud.

Under English law and Indian law

9
Written defamatory statement
10
False statement
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 Under English law11the distinction between libel and slander is material for two
reasons
 Under criminal12 law only libelhas been recognized as an offence slander is no offence
 Under the law of torts slander is actionable save in exceptional cases only o proof of
special damages libel is always actional able per se.
 In India both libel and slander are criminal offences13 under section 4, IPC

DEFENCES UNDERNDEFAMATION

Fair comment

Making fair14 comment on matters of public interest is defense to an action for defamation for
this defense to be available following essentials are required

1. It must be comment
2. The comment must be fair
3. The matter commented upon must be public offence

For example, a says of book published by z – z’s book is foolish: z must be weak man. Z’s
book is indecent; z must be a man of impure mind. These are only comment based on Z’s
book and A will be protected if he has said that in good faith. Similarly,if in a newspaper
there is publication of statement of facts making serious allegation of dishonesty and
corruption against the plaintiff, and if defendant is unable to prove the truth of such facts the
plea of fair comment which is based on untrue facts will also fail.

Privilege

Privilege is a special legal right or immunity granted to a person or persons. Absolute

privilege is an immunity from lawsuit, usually a lawsuit for defamation. , for example), and
there must be proof that the statement was communicated to others

11
7 states having criminal statutes regarding defamation of dead
12
United states&canada
13
Soviet Union-defamatory insult only a criminal offence
14
Honest comment in some countries
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Cases Related To Defamation

Ram JethMalanivsSubarmanyam Swami

It was held by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog that statement made by defendant was prima facie
defamatory. It was a case of exceeding the privilege and that by itself was held to be evidence
of malice. This harmed the image of plaintiff at large and such allegation destroy the personal
and political reputation ,as LTTE is banned organization and connecting the name with it
leads to loss of reputation. However such loss is not recoverable, said by justice, but still
compensation of Rs 5 lacks awarded in favor of plaintiff and against the defendant,
considering his professional status and his social status.

Salander Desai vsMajaladi

The trial court believed the plaintiff-appellant and disbelieved the respondent, and held that
the respondent did make the statements imputed to him. It held that the appellant was entitled
to recover damages from the respondent and awarded a decree of Rs. 500. On appeal the
learned Additional Civil Judge agreed with the trial court teat the respondent did make the
statements alleged against him and that they were defamatory, but held that no action for
defamation lay against the respondent as the statements were made by him as a witness, in
judicial proceedings and were absolutely privileged. He allowed the appeal and dismissed the
suit.

K.S SUNDARAM VS S. VISWANATHAN

The madras high court15 held that the article could not be termed as defamatory against the
plaintiff since there was no personal animus established for writer to write defamatory
15
4 july,2012
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articles against the plaintiff , in the absence of same , it was said16 that the article contained
only fair comment on performance of the company not defamatory statement . if due to
malice in the part of defendant the commentis distorted one his comment ceases to be fair and
he cannot take a such defense.

JIWAN MAL VS LACHMAN DASN

The High Court17 considered the remark of the defendant to be wholly irrelevant to the matter
under enquiry and uncalled for, it rejected the defense of privilege and held the defendant
liable. I) State Communication A statement made by one officer of the state to another in the
course of official duty is absolutelyprivileged for reason of public policy. Such privilege also
extends to report made in the course ofmilitary.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

16
HONOURABLE Justice P. Jyoti Mani and justice duraiswamy
17
Allahabad high court,sec 562 0f code of civil proceedings
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(R.K.BANGIA, 2019)(KAUR, 2009)(CASE LAWS, 1998)

References
CASE LAWS. (1998, MARCH 6). Retrieved from WWW.INDIANKANOON.COM.ORG:
HTTPS://INDIANKANOON.ORG

KAUR, D. A. (2009). DEFENSES UNDER DEFAMATION. DELHI: DELHI LAW AGENCY.

R.K.BANGIA. (2019). LAW OF DEFAMATION. ALLAHABAD: ALLAHABAD LAW AGENCY.

CASE LAWS. (1998, MARCH 6). Retrieved from WWW.INDIANKANOON.COM.ORG:

HTTPS://INDIANKANOON.ORG

KAUR, D. A. (2009). DEFENSES UNDER DEFAMATION. DELHI: DELHI LAW AGENCY.

R.K.BANGIA. (2019). LAW OF DEFAMATION. ALLAHABAD: ALLAHABAD LAW AGENCY.