The Kerala High Court dismissed a quashing plea by editors of the Vellinakshathram website, holding that republishing defamatory statements causing reputational harm can attract criminal liability under Sections 499 and 500 IPC, refusing to quash proceedings sought under Section 482 CrPC.
The Supreme Court of India closed all defamation proceedings against Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan after Congress MP Vivek Tankha withdrew both civil and criminal cases.
The court recorded an amicable settlement, bringing an end to the long-running dispute linked to the 2021 Madhya Pradesh Panchayat elections.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a plea seeking transfer of a 2019 defamation case, holding that unproven allegations against a judge and counsel amount to an “attack on the majesty of law.” The Court imposed a Rs 50,000 penalty on the 89-year-old petitioner and directed the trial court to proceed expeditiously.
A Pune special MP/MLA court has approved Rahul Gandhi’s request to convert his defamation trial concerning Vinayak Savarkar from a summary to a summons format. This allows Gandhi to present detailed evidence and cross-examine witnesses, deemed necessary by the judge due to the complexity of factual and legal questions involved.
Mumbai’s sessions court granted bail to Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP, in a defamation case filed by Kirit Somaiya’s wife. Raut, convicted of defamation and sentenced to 15 days in prison, challenged the verdict, claiming it was flawed. Bail was approved upon a Rs 50,000 bond after his personal appeal.
Jai Anant Dehadrai withdrew his defamation case against Mahua Moitra in the Delhi High Court after she labeled him “jobless” and “jilted.” Dehadrai’s counsel expressed willingness to drop the suit if Moitra refrained from making false statements about him. With Moitra’s counsel seeking instructions, Dehadrai unconditionally withdrew the suit, which was accepted by the court.