Arindam Sen Gupta v. NCT of Delhi & Ors.

9. l(areena D/o l(islran La, R/o F-40, Jawahar Bagh, Shal<arpur, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi

10. Tabassum D/o Siddharth Blrardwaj R/o 200, L-odhi Road Complex, New Dellri

11. Arrjali D/o surender Yadav R/o A-703, Serrenth Floor, l(arrchanjunga Apartrnent Dwarka, New Delhi 1,2. Maya SiirgS W/o Rajender Si'r9lr R/o l-Block, Saurabh Vihar, Jaitpur, Badarpur, New Delhi'

13. Reetru Saxena, W/o Sarab Saxena, R/o 727, Sector 19, Pocl<et 111 Dwarlca, New Delhi' Tlrese girls witlr tlreir gestures and tall<s were irrstigatirrg the customers for tlre wrong deeds. arrd the custorners were gettirrg instigated to involve in wrong deeds' Apart from us, Shri Crl. M.C. No. 2t1'I/ 07 & conn.matters l J, Rameslr Balrl, Sio Slrri Amar Nath, R/o 1692 Arya Samaj Road, l(arol Baglr, Delhi ancJ Shri Anil l(umar S/o. Preetam Kunrar R/o C-34, Shakti Nagar, Dellri lrad also come to see tlre dance and tlrey were also slrocl<ed and angry to see the slrow witlr about 50 to 60 auclience who were also watclring the show. Out of all these audience, most of tlrern were also instiqatecl with tlre same vulgar feelings"as we werd. In thls regard, police investigation slrall be carried out against Slrri Babbu l(alra wlrose full rrame is Man Molrarr l(alra S/o Slrri l(islran Lal l(alra and I have lranded over tlre two ticl<ets wlrose numbers I lrave already given you alorrg witlr tlre two t500 denominatiorr notes. Statenrent lreard and it is correct. "

3. An endorsement was made statenrent wlrich reads as under:beneath tlre "ACP lrad tlre information of Rajdoot Hotel that the owner Babbu l(alra and Prenr l(alra are running a dance Bar in the t-lotel where they serve drinlcs and girls from different cities of lrrdia perform obscene dances, Where tlrese girls witlr tlreir obscene gestures instigate the customers. This irrformation was brought to tlre lctrowledge and secretly it was investigated and it was found to be correct. We tlre Raiding Team 1 alorrgwitlr ACP, lrrspector Jeet Singh Special Team, lnspector Raj Vir Singlr, AATS/Crime Branch atrd Staff Sl Raj l(ltmar, Sl Bhagwali Prasad, 5l Buddh Parkaslr, A5l Ravinder Const. Sarrjay Kain. Special Team 5l Parrl<aj Yadav, Sl Selrdev Rana, HC Bheem Singlr, HC Tanveer, AATS Staff, Sl Surinder Rana, ASI Sameer Singh, Const. Pardeep Hudda, Const.Sat Pal, Lady Sl Puslrap Yadav and Lady Corrst.l(avita, 48, Crime Branclr, Lady Corrst.Mukesh No.303 DRP, Lady Const.Anita No.2 947lCrime. This team had already been called arrd instructed to develop on Crl. M.C.No.2 1I1"/O[7] & conn.matters PageV of27 )t the information arrd the police Station of the area Jangpura Mathura Road was informed about it and tlre teanr was. present tlrere. The secret informer informed that at tlris time also there are obscene darrces/Cabra is going on in the Hotel Rajdoot. Orr this information one Raiding party alongwith a Staff and Rajiv l(umar Chaudhary along witlr Dilip l(umamr was prepared and the instructions were given to botlr tlre witnesses and were also harrded over two notes of denomination of t500/- eaclr and were instructed to go into the Rajdoot Hotel and watclr the dance and were further instructed that if any obscene activities are tal<ing place therr witness Dilip l(umar would come out and would make the instructed indication. Thereafter, all of us also took position around Rajdoot ltotel. At about

11.30 PM, ott the irrdication given by the Witness Dilip l(unrar the wlrole Raidirrg Party went into Bar Hall of the Rajdoot Hotel i.e. Eldorado Restaurant where 13 girls who were dancing turn by turn on the stage and were making obscene gestures to instigate the people sittirrg in the Bar Room arrd Babbu Kalra who was also instigating tlrem to perform such obscene gestures were tal<en under custody. Tlre complainant Rajeev l(umar Clraudhary s/o Ram Veer Sirrgh recorded lris statement and case uls 2941L09134 IPC and u/s B of ITP Act was registered' That Case may be registered."

4. The police released a press Telease, which reads as under:-,,witlr tlre arrest of 13 bar girls caught while performing obscene, sex provocative, semi-nude iloor dap-ing shows at Rajdoot Hotel, MatSura Road, last n-ight, sleuths of crime branch Delhi police have beerr able to smash a well orgatrized, scandalous racl<et being run by the owners of the said hotel where the dance bar girls from Bombay dance openly enticed/allure the visiting guests for Crl.M.C.No.2L11'/07 & conn.matters 3\./ sexual acts while dressed in alluring and scanty dresses. One of the partners of said hotel namely Manmohan @ Babbu l(alra lias also been arrested for abetting, aiding these dance bar girls to achieve their illegal designs. An information was received at crime branclr that the owrrers of Rajdoot Hotel are flourislring Lhere br-rsiness by organizing floor dance shows where dance girls allure customers through obscene gestures, words, actions, vyilfully exposing their person to attract the attention of spectators/guests for the purpose of prostitution. For tlris purpose the lroteliers facilitates thern by provid irrg a ccom modation at their hotel for carrying out their illegal, nefarious and antisocial activities irr the garb of floor dance playing sexy songs/tunes. The lrotel managen'lent charge each guest T500. This information was developed by the officers of Arrti Robbery Cell crime branch, specifically entrusted with this tasl<. On verification through secret sources the information was found to be autlrentic. The hotel owners used extra ordinary vigilant system using Hi-tech security/monitoring gJdgets installed at t5e various locations of hotel to ward off any checlcs oir their anti social activities. They have hiied a trumber of rrrusclemen, bouncers, extra guards to inform tlrem. A raid was organized on a specific tip off at the premises of hotel Eldrado d'ance bar, under tlre supervision of A.c.P. P.P. Sirrgh comprising the seiected staff of crime brancS, after the clecoy gave tlre predetermined signal. 13 dancing girls or tne bar cum dancing hall of Eldrado in turn were detairred along with Manmohan @ Babbo Kalra a partner in it'.le said hotel' A case vide F.t.R.No.39:1106 dated 415106 uls 2941109134 I'P.C. & B l.T.P. Act has been registered at P'S' Nizarnuddin, sufficierrt number of lady police Crl.M.C.No.21,I1-/07 & conn.matters Pageg of 27 )) officers w.ere also mefftber of ilre raiding party. g"=I,,ff,l': ? o: I::: n:;:';*i;, i.T. ",;' t o u,i # 5' rt is apparent ilrat the 'ratter was of pubric concern and,rat was tre reason why tre porice rereased a press rerease. The incident was pubrished in various newspapers thg day next i.e. 5.6.2006 a'd since,re above_captio'ecl petitio's pertain to news pubris'ed in 4 newspapers, we reproduce the contents flrereof. 6' rn ilre newspaper 'Trre Times of rndia, it was reported as under:_ Girls, Hotel Owner ruabOEE- New Delhi:. An illegal dance bar being run in a south Derhi rroter was bust"o nv.,ii,u branch on saturday' -F.grrteen persons - 13 dance bar girrs and one of tre rroter owners - were arrested on several charges, ranging from oOrc"n,ty to inrnroral trafficking anOiO""tr*t. " Tlre accused girls were allegedl), caught dancing in a scantiry crad state. "A raib was conducted on ilre premises of Er Dorado dan." -our in Hoter Rajdoot after a signar from ar,'iJ"r.over cop, wlro lrad been prese't inside. ih; girls were caugrrt red-handed," said Tejendra luthra, DCp (crime brarrch).,,We also drrested Manmohan alias Babbu r(arra, who is a partrreiin the hoter,,, he added. An FrR was registered at tre N izarnuddin porice station under trre rerevant sectiorrs of the rpc and the lmmoral Traffic (prevention) Act on Sunday. The girls were later released on bail. Police said ilre girrs were aged between 20 and 30 and rraired from rower nriddre-crass farniries. while four of ilre' are frotn Derrri, two each are Crl.M.C.No.2L[1],L/07 & conn.matters f)age 1-O of 27 }J from Bilrar, Noida and punjab and one each from l(oll<ata and Allalrabad. The last woman, ilre only nrarried person among the girls, said she was a lrotel guest. police suspecl that her husband was also involved in the raclcet. He was detained for questioning. During interrogation, it was reveared that some of tlre accused girls were employed in Mumbai dance bars but after those estaniistrments were slrut down they were forced to slrift base to the Capital. Crirne branch officials were tipped_off about tlre lrotel's flourishing business on account of floor dance shows. I Rajdoot Hotel had apparenfly been trosting clandestine slrows for.their clierrts since the past six years or more, clrargirrg T500 as entry fees. Inside Eldorado bar the dance girls "lured custonlers with obscene gestures". The owners of tlre lrotel allegedly facilitated the dance bar girls witlr rooms wlrere they indulged in flesh trade,'apart from providirrg tlre dance floor. Further investigations revealed that the hotel owner had an elaborate system in place to avoid detection by the police. "Sophisticated gadgets used for security monitoring were installed at strategic points to alert tlre hotel administration at tlre sliglrtest hint of trouble," a senior official said. "That apart, tlrey lrad hired several bouncers muscle men and additional security guards to keep them informed of any lawenforcemerrt activity in and around the hotel," added tlre official. Undercover cops entered tlre bar as guests late on Saturday niglrt, and,signaled the raiding police team around 11.30 ptrr, after the "erotic dancing" began. Within minutes, the lrotel was surrounded bv uniformed policerlen." Crl. M.C. No. 21"L1"/ 07 & conn.rnatters Page'Il of 27 q 3{

7. In the newspaper 'Dainik Blraslcar, it was published as under:-

B, ln the lrewspaper 'Tlre Piorreer' it was published as under:-: "13 dance bar qirls, owner of eosh hotel arrested The owner of a lrotel in a poslr south Delhi locality and 13 dance bar girls performing therqr were arrested after police raided its premises in tlre wee lrours today, police said. Acting on a iip-off, Dellri Police sleuths raided Hotel Rajdoot near Nizamuddin and arrested Babbu l(alra, one of the partners of the hotel, and 13 bar dancers most of tlrem brought here from wturnbai. Tlre girls were arrested on charges of perforrning obscene and provocative Crl.M.C. No.2n1/07 & conn.matters Page LZ of '.17 t )6 sexual acts, wlrile l(alra is being charged with aiding and abetting tlrem, police saicl. Most of the girrs have been brougrrt fror-r Mumbai, wlrere they were worrci'g in bars before tlre Malrarashtra Government.closed them down, police added"

9. Tlre next day i.e. on 06.00.2006 irr the newspaper,Tfre Pioneer' it was further publislred as under:- "Ear Girls bacl< on Rajdoot FIoor Hotel earns more from dance bars than rooin occupancy Neeraj Cha.ulran New Delhi The 13 girls, who wei"e caught wlrile dancing, serving drinlcs arrd enticing guests at Rajdoot Hotel on Sunday were bacl<, in business at tlre lrotel's Eldorado, bar cn Monday. According to a senior police officer, failing to lrave a brisl< business, the three star-rated lrotel. served everytlrirrg - girls, wine and music against provisions of licerrsirrg act. More than 90 percent business of tl'.e lrotel was from dance bar girls, as room occupancy rate was very low. Rajdoot l'rotel is the only tlrree stair lrotel in Delhi where floor slrows tal<e place' Tlre officer also informed that all these girls are frcm lower rniddle class fanrilies arrd most 01= tlrem are unff)arried or divorcees. They fiad worlced in Mumbai bars earlier and l<now lrow to attract custotners. They were beirrg paid {10,000/- per month apart from wh;rt tlrey get orr the dance floor. Earlier 79 girls were arrested by Crime Branch frotn tlris hotel irr 1988. Mannrohan l(alra alias Babbu (5t)) rul"ts tlris lrotel in partnerslrip with his brother Prern Crl.M.C.No.2t1'Ll 07 & conn.matters Page L[3] of i'"7 l(alra but Prenn, has nothing to do with Eldorado bar. Tlre hotel managed to bool< only seven to eight rooms on a normal day and l(alra was unable to pay tlre salary to its B0 staff. ii He used to run two shows daily for two lrours eaclr from B:30 pm till midnight. Entry ticket here was {500 out of wlrich t250 went towards entertainmerrt tax. Liquor was too served in the bar and was verv expensive - a bottle of bee,r cost T4B[5] Cttstonrers were clrarged heavily for food. The bar has a capacity 50 to 60 people. According to the officer, prostitution was allowed in tlre hotel rooms itsel"f antl big customers were given a better deal. ' Tlre officer says, "lf a customer liked any girl ancl wanted her to dance again on his favourite song thert he was charged t[2],500 for tlrat particular song". Babbu himself used to prompt girls to make eye contact witlr the customers so that they throw more money. Every slrow yielded over TOne lakh to Babbu- He kept 50 percent lrinrself, 10 percent was given to the waiters and bouncers and rest was given tb the otlrer staff. The girls used to l<eep solrle amount fronr the tip money. According to the officer, Babbu himself lived in roonl no.31B with a Russian girl. He told the police that the girls tlremselves contacted lrirrt. Most of the girls are it;r tlre age group of 20 to 24 except one Neqlu (name changed) who used to design dresses for tlre shows. Four girls.are from Mumbai and were stayirrg in hotel roomS. Rest of these girls are frotn areas lilce CR Parl<,. Dwarka, Rohini, Lodlri Road and Laxmi Nagar of Delhi' Tlre Deltri girls also used to stay in hotel rooms ancj indulge iri prostitution. Babbu used hi-tech monitorinrT gadgets lilce CCTV caffieras and magic eyes which Crl.M.C. No.2IIU07 & conn.matters jx1i were rnorlitored from Room No.512 and 513 0f the lrotel and if a local cop visited trrere therr tlre set-up was changed."

10. On 05.06.2006, in tlre newspaper 'Dainik Jagran, news was published in Hirrdi and its translation reads under:- "L[3] Bar Girls arrested from Hotel New Dellri, J[5]. Thirteen Bar Girls, dancing in provocative and semi-nude condition, arrestecl from Rajdoot Hotel at Mathura Road, by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police on Saturday night. Police has also arrested Marrmohan alias Bablr-r l(alra, a partner of tlre Hotel. Witlr tlrese arrests, police lras unearthed a raclcet of bringing Murnbai Bar Dancers to Dellri and malcing them to dance in l-lotels It has been reported, that police lrad received a secret information tlrat tlre Bar Girls, brought fronr Mumbai, are being used to lure tlre custonrers for prostitutiorr by tlreir stimulating dances iri the Rajdoot Hotel. For this purpose, tlre Hotel is providing the rooffls and other facilities to its customer illegally. For reaching on the dance floor, for obscene dancing with m usic, the H otel is clra rg ing Ru pees Five Hundred from each customer' police had information tlrat to avoid any lcind of raid, Hotel had got installed lrighly sophisticatecl Cameras and other equipments at various places in ttre Hotel including Entry Gate' lt was also learnt that Hotel owner has deputed Bouncers, Wrestlers and additiorral security guards to stop a ny ra id irrg staff at the gate itself' This irrfbrrnatiorr was found correct wlren these were confirmed by the sources. Tlrereafter, one police team, led by ACP P.P.Singh, conducted a raid at Elderado Dance bar and arrested 13 Bar Girls Crl.M.C. No.2 1,tl/07 & conn'matters Page L[5] of 2.7: I th:= AS lq,a/ alongwitlr Mannrohan. A case under various sections for irrdulging in tlre prostitution has been registered at Police Station Nizamr_rddin. The investigations of case lrave been entrusted to lnspector Ran Singlr. On enquiry, it has been learnt tlrat these Bar Girls belong to poor families and they are in tlris profession, since tlreir rninor age, due to cotnpelling circunrstances. The Bar- Girls,.in the age of 20 to 30 years, are in tlris profession for years together. However, the Fatiala Court lras granted Bail to these Bar Girls."

11. On 27.6.2006 as a follow up story in 'Dainil< Jagaran' a further publicatiorr was translated version thereof reads as urrder:-: tlre newspapei made in Hindi, I "Mumbai Bar Girls enticinq the lrearts of Delhians, Pradeep l(unrar Sinolr, New Delhi Tlre love for Mumbai Bar Girls irr.Delhi is famous these days. These Bar Girls, came in Delhi in the search of jobs, are not orrly errticing tlre general public but blso becorrring a lreadache for Delhi Police. The number of girls reaching from Mumbai to Delhi can be presumed with tlre fact that more tlran one and a half dozen girls have been arrested by tlre police within a period of one fftontlr. As per sources, tlre numbers of these Girls have reached in hundreds, who are staying," at Five'Star Hotels, l(othis and Farnr Houses' It is well l<nown that hundred of girls from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradeslr, Gujrat and Delhi WereearningfromDanceBa;.satMumbai,but the closing of oance Bars in Mumbai, disturbed; their routine and they get their new shelter at Delhi. Tlrere is another reason belrind this, that most of tlre customers stayirrg witlr these girls in Dance Bars arrd Five star Hotels have connection with Delhi also. 50rne have tlreir business in Dellri arrd some others usecl to visit Delhi often Crl.M.C.No.2I1'Il 07 & conn.matters.[7] !o for tlreir business. Tlre geograpliical corrdition of Dellri also helps them. Sorne days bacl<, the Crime Branclr of Dellii Police lrad arrested 11 Bar Girls from Rajdoot Hotel of Soutlr Delhi in a raicl. All tlrese Dancers were enticing tlre public of Delhi after the closure of Dance Bars in Mumbai. ArresLs have been made from Greater l(ailaslr, Lajpat Nager and Sarojini Nagar areas also. Another Bar Dancer of Mumbai was arrested with Raju Sansi, a notorious Banl< Dacoit, by the Special staff of South District, but she was released as she had'no crimirral records. lt is surprising tlrat Bar Girls lrave made connection witlr criminals also. These criminals harye connection with Mumbai also. As per police, it is a matter of concern. The gangs of criminals can use these lucrative girls for l<idnapping, loot etc. crimes. Their Company is giving double benefits to criminals. The Company of girls gives therr,r easy way to get shelter and also in spreading their network. Police has information of all these incidents, but they lresitate to nab them in the absence of evidence. According to a senior officer, despite the disrnissal of one Sub- Inspector of Crime Branch in tlre matter of Dance Bar case arrd Police Commissioner's l<eeping it in tlre category of an organized crime, the Station House Officers are optirrg to close tlreir eyes from this side. Hite-outs of middlemen: Besides tlre posh colonies of Greater l(ailaslr, Defence Colony, South Ex, Saket PVR, Vasant Vihar, Vasarrt Kunj arrd Connaught Place, facility of dealing is ava ila ble on rlobile plro nes a lso. After finalization of deal, tlre Bar Girls are dropped and picked-up in luxurious vehicles."

72. Alleging tlrat the afore-noted news iterns were defamatory of Hotel Rajdoot and its owner, 5h'Manmohan l(alra, the stated owner of the hotel filed complaints before Crl.M.C.Ncr.[2] 11,LiO[7] & conn.matters Page t[7] of 7:7 the learned ACMM alleging tlrat the accused named complaints lrad committed offences punishable Section 4991500 tpC.

13. I reproduce in a tabular form the nanre of the accused. as also tlre designation and the concerned petition filed by the person concerned in respect to the 4 criminril complaints filed by respondent No.2 pertaining to the news itenrs published irr tlre Tinres o,f India, Dairril< Bhaskar, The Pioneer and DairrilcJagran. lt reads as under:- (A) Newspaper- THE TIMES OF INDIA Name of Accused Designation PetiLion No. Vineet Jain Managing Director Petitioner in Crl. M.C. 2rrrl2007 Arindam Sen Gupta Editor Petitioner No. 1 in Crl.M.C. 27 0412007 Balraj Arora Printer a nd Publislrer. (Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltcl. ) Petitioner No. in Crl.M.C. 27 A412007 (B) Newspaper- DAlNll( BHASI(AR Nanre of Accused Petition No. I 1) in the under Ramesh Clra nder Aga rwa I Crl.M.C. No.2 ItI/ 07 & conn.matters Editor Crl.M.C. -l I I I --t I I I -J Page L[8] of 77 \t/

(C) Newspaper- DAtNil( IAGARAN

Nanre of Accused Deisgnation Petition No. Matrinder Moharr Gupta Clrairntan cum Managing D irecto r (Petitioner Crl. M.C. rB2t20oB). Sanjay Gupta Editor Petitioner No. 1 Crl. M.C. r0s2l200B Pradeep l(umar Reporter Petitioner No.2 Crl. M.C. 10s2l2008

(D) Newspaper- PIONEER

Nanre of Accused Desig nation Petition No; Durbar Ganguly Joint Managing Director Petitioner Crl. M.C.308'?-12007 Chandan Mitra Printer a nd pu blislrer Petitioner Crl.M.C.30B3/2007 Ma noj CG Reporter, PTI Petitioner in Crl.M.C.]-22412008 Crl.M.C. No.TIIL/O[7] & conn.matters Page L[9] of 27 \t /./

14. Defamation has been defined as a false statement which lras tlre terrdency to disparage the goocJ name or reputation of anotlrer person. strictly speaking, in terms of tlre statute, as per section 4gg lrrdian penal Code, the offence of defamation consists of tlrree vital components wlrich can be categorised as under:-

(i) Mal<ing or publislring any

(ii) Such irnputatiorr must have been made by words either written or spoken or by visible rep resetrtatio n.

(iii) Such irnputation must l:e made with the 1 irrtention to cause lrarffi or witli tlre lcnowledge i or having reasons to believe tlrat it will harm the reputation of the person.concerned.

15. Petitioners contend that apart from tlre reporter, the editor, prirrter and publisher would be Iiable if a scandalous publication relates to a newspaper and additionally would urge that if a newspaper trutlrfully reports a news item, pertairrirrg to a fact wlriclr is of public interest, nobody can be prosecuted for the offence of defarTtation.

16. Tlre complainant alleges that the news items are per se defanratory and that all accused would be liable.

17. A fair reporting pertaining to a matter of public concern, without insinuations and innuendos i.e' a news item containirrg statements of true facts is not actionable for tlre offerrce of criminal defamation.

18. I lrave a relook at the news reports. They have been extracted by me in paras 6 to 11 above. Crl.M.C.No.21L[1],/ 07 & conn.matters Page2O of 27

19. Pertairrirrg to ilre newspaper,The news item is ex_tracted in para 6 above. FIR lrave been noted in para Z and 3 release lras been noted in pa ra 4 above.

20. Tlre news itenr sirnply publishes ilre fact of the raid conducted arrd 13 dance bar girls being apprehended. The nature of activity as per ilre FIR at tlre dance bar has been reported. similar is the position with the news itern publislred in the 3 otlrer newspapers. 2r. lwould lrighlight that the source on wlrich th.e publishers acted was a proper soLrrce i.e. the police. Tlre 9rh exception to section 499 lpc is prirna facie attracted. Tlrere are no innuendos in the publications. A fact pertaining to an FIR being registered witlr reference to the activities fourrd to be carried out from Hotel Rajdoot as recorded in the FIR has been published. The FIR was made public by ilre porice along witlr a press rblease.

22. Pertainirrg to tlre liability, primarily a reporter is resporrsible for lris act of defamation and Vicarious liability is fastened only on the printer, pubrlisher and editor of the newspaper as held by me in rlry judgrnent datecl 21,.g.2007 disposing of Crl.M.C. No.35/2005 'Mrs.Shobhana Bhartia & Ors. rrs.

N.CT of Delhl & Anr.'. Tlrus, unless tlre contrary;s proved the persons declared as printer, publisher and ediit;r of tlre newspaper wlro would be presumed to be responsible for tlre contents of tlre newspaper on tlre question whether any person other tharr the printer, publisher and editor can be prosecuted for a defamatory article, apart fronr the reporter, needs a few decisions to be noted: Crl. M.C. No. 2L11,/ 07 & co nn. matters Page 2L of 2.[7] I YT,/ Times of lndia' ilre The contents of the above. The press \{ 'l),ArR, 1968 SC 110:- Tlre public prosecutor filed a complaint under section 500 lpc against four; persons who were members of the Editbrial Board of a Marathi weekry named "Maharashtra". one of the accused, Sudlrakar Gopal Madane, had filed the declaration in the prescribed form under the Act describing himself as tlre editor, printer and publislrer of the newspaper. The particurar copy of the M a lra raslrtra in wtr ich the a lleged defamatory article appeared bore the name of one Madane as the printer, publisher and editor of tlre newspaper. lt also slrowecl on the front page that the Editorial Board consisted of Madane and tlrree other accused. The question arose; wlrether tlre mernbers of Editorial Board could be r prosecuted for defamatory article. Adverting to, Section 7, tlre Supreme Court lreld tlrat:-

' present case tlre na me of M ada ne admittedly was printed as the Editor of the Malrarashtra in the copy of tlre Maharashtra wlriclr contained the defanratory article. The declaratior-r in Form I wlrich has been produced before us shows the narne of M ada ne not only as tlre printer a nd publisher but also as tlre editor. In our opinion tlre presumptiorr will attach to Madane as lraving selected tlre material fclr. publication in the newspaper, lt may not be out of place to note that Madane admitted: tlrat he had writtetr tlris article. In the circunrstances not otrly the presumption cannot be drawn againsl: tlre others who had Crl. N[4].C. No. 21,LL/ 07 & co nn. rnatte rs Page 22 9f 2.[7] !r not declared ilremselves as editors of the newspaper but it is also fair to leave thenr out because tlrey had no concern with tlre publislrlng of the article in question. On the whole therefore the order of disclrarge made by the learned sirrgle Judge appears to be proper in the,circumstances of ther case and we see no reason to interfere.,, (ii[1] T.K.S.Muthukova v Haii C.H. Mohammad Kova, (1979) 2 SCC B:-Questiorr before Supreme Court was whether the Chief Editor of a newspaper can be prosecuted for publication of a defamatory article. ln para 34 of tlre decision, Supreme Court observed as under:-

(iii) /(.M. Mathew v State of lGrela & Anr', 1992 CriLl3779:- In relation to prosecution of Chief Editor of a newspaper for publication of a defa matory news a rticle, 5u preme Court observed as under:-

Crl.M.C.No,21,IL/07 & conn.matters PageZ3of 27,l seeffts to rely upon tlre presumption under Section 7 of the press and Registration of ! Boolcs Act, 1867 ('tlre Act,). But-Sectio' z of the Act,lras no applicability for a person who is simply named as,Chief Editor,. The i presumption under Section 7 is only against the person whose narire is prirrted as 'editor'as required under Section 5(1). Tlrere is a nrandatory (trrougrr rebuttabre) presumption that the persofi whose name is printed as 'Editor, is ilre editor of every portion of tlrat issue of the newspaper of. wlriclr a copy is produced. Section 1(1) of tlre Act defines,Editor, to mean,the llerson. wlro controls ilre selection of the matter tlrat is published in a newspaper,. Section 7 raises tlre presumption in respect of a person wlro is named as the editor and printed as such on every copy of tlre, newspaper. Tlre Act does not recognise any otlrer legal entity for raising the presumption. Even if ilre naffie of tlre Chief Editor is printed in tlre newspaper, ilrere is no presumption against lrim under Section 7 of the Act. See State of Malraraslntra v R.B. Chowdhari, AIR 1968 SC 110; D.p. Mishra v l(amal Narain Sharma & Ors, AIR 1970 SC 856; Narasinglr Charan Mohanty v Surendra Mohanty,'AlR 1-974 SC 47; Haji C.H. Molrammad l(oya v T.l(.S.M.A. Muthukoy.a, AIR 1979 SC 154.

10. lt is important to state that for a ' Magistrate to take cognizance of the offence,as against the Clrief Editor, tlrere m ust be positive averments in the complaint of knowledge of the objectiorrable character of tlre matter. The con'rplaint in tlre instant case does not contain any suclr allegation. In the absence of such allegation, tlre Magistrate was justified in directing tlrat the conrplaint so: far as it relates to tlre Chief Editor courld not: Cr|.M.C.No.21,1.1,/07 &conn.matters,r \1 be proceeded with. To asr< ilre chief Editor to undergo the trial of the case merely on the ground of the issue of process would be oppressive. No person should be tried witlrout a prima facie case. The view taken by tlre High Court is untenable. Tlre appeal is accordingly allowed. The order of the Higlr Court is set aside.,, !Y)-, 1eB[3] cr! 777:- A learned singre Judge or ttris court was considering whether the chalrnran and Executive Editor of a newspaper courd be prosecuted for p u blication of a defa nr atory a rticle. With reference to Chairman, it was observed as under:- "Needless to say that as Chairman of the Company Shri Goenlca can be held liable for. the publication of the offerrding. news items only if it is shown that lre was somehow concerned with flre publication of the defamatory news items. lt is lrighly doubtful tlrat he can be asked to answer tlre clrarge of defamation merely, because he lrapperred to be the Chairman of the Company owning tlre newspaper without there being a ny fu rtlrer evidence as rega rds h is pa rticipatiorr in the actual nranagement and admirristration of the affairs of the company. lrrtention on the part of the accused to lrarm the reputation or the l<nowledge or reasonable beli.ef that an imputation will harnr the reputation of tlre persons concernecJ is an essential ingredient of offence under S. 400, IPC but such evidence is totally missing in the instant case. Under the circumstances the impugned order as regards Shri Goenka cannot be sustained on this short ground." Crl.M.C. No.2 1,1,1,/07 & conn.matters t After referring io Section 3, 4_, 5, Press and Registration of Boolcs learned JudgelOdeO'-,/ 6 and 7 of tlre Act, 1867, the {. t'However, it is difficult to draw such a presumption in tlre case of otlrer petitioners viz., Arun Shorie, petitioner N o. 2 and A, p. Dlrar petitioner No. 4. Their names do not ' tind place irr the decraration pri'ted on the newspaper itself and tlrere is no iota of evidence to show. that they are in any. manner concerned ' with the collection, control or selection of tlre matter prirrted in tlre newspaper. Their designations as Executive Editor/Fditor of ilre Express Nevys Service will rrot per se warrant an inference tlrat they are in any way responsible for the selection of the material, An authority for tlris view may be fourrd irr the State of Malraraslrtra v. R. B. Chowdlrari, AIR 1969. sc 110."

23. Fronr the afore-noted judicial pronouncement, it can safely tre said tlrat besides persfns declared as edltor, printer and publislrer of a newspaper, orrly such persons could be prosecuted for an action of defamation against wlrorn specific and clear allegations lrave been made in the con'rplaint that eitlrer lre was responsible for selection of tl-le defanratory matter or lrad personal lcnowledge about the contents of the defamatory matter. In addition, it must also be averred in the complairrt tlrat such person haci the interrtion to lrarm or had knowledge or reason to belie".re tlrat tlre irnputatiorr will harm tlre reputation of the complainant. The clrairman or tlre nrarraging director cf a compar'ry owning a newspaper is rreither tlre ediior, nor thce printer, nor the publisher Crl. N[4].C. No. 2LL'I/ 07 & conrr.nratters and therefore no presumption can f be draurn against the holder of these officed even though they are, by reason of the office held by them, in charge of and responsible to the company for tlre conduct of its business

24. I clo not find any such pleaclings in the complaint against Vineet Jain, Mahinder Mohan Gupta and Durbur Ganguly and thus qua them the complaints are liable to be quashed on the sole ground that merely because \/ineet Jain is the managing director of Bennett coleman & co. Ltd" Mahincler Mohan Gupta is the chairman-cum-Managlng Director of the company pu,blishing the newspaper 'Dainik Jagran,andDurburGarrgulyistheJointt\4anagingDirectorof the company publishing tlre newspaper'The Pioneer" on the reason of the office held by them,'they cannot be made liable.

25. Qua ttre rest lhold that the news items contain no innuendos. A fact of an FIR being registered with the contents thereof has been published' Tlre publication of the newsitempertainstoamatterofpublicinterest.The pub|icationisatrueandafaithfuIreportofafact'1, highIightthattlrereportershavenotcarriedot-Itany ' investi gative journal ism''

26. The petitions are a||owed. The,compIaints impugned in each petition'as also the summoning order are quashed'

27. No costs. rt Y ' i - r".-'{-.il'tti\*7' ( PRAD E EP hlAi'l Dil4ibc I.![.lDGE October l-CI, 201-ldk Crl.M.C.No.2 1'1't/ 07 & conn'matters Page27 cf27