Tag: defamation

In a recent judgement, M/S Iveco Magirus Brandschutztechnik Gmbh vs. Nirmal Kishore Bhartiya & Anr. , the Supreme Court held that nothing prevents the Magistrate from dismissing a defamation complaint by applying the exceptions under section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC") even before summoning the accused. ... ...

Defamation is the act of intentionally injuring one’s character by false and malicious words in such a manner that it lowers or injures the reputation of that individual in the eyes of society or the community to which they belong. Traditionally defamation is of two varietals: libel and slander. ......

Under Indian law, defamation is both a criminal (punishable with imprisonment) as well as civil offence (punishable through the award of damages). Defamation as a civil offence is punishable under the law of torts, whereas, the criminal law on defamation is codified under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC"). ......

On February 14, 2020, a Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay lifted an injunction granted to Marico Limited and permitted a social media influencer to post a video reviewing a Marico product, subject to few amendments in the video....

Observing that "the race between technology and the law could be termed as a hare and tortoise race - as technology gallops, the law tries to keep pace", the Delhi High Court on October 23, 2019 ruled that Indian courts can issue global takedown orders to platforms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter for illegal content uploaded by users. The Court also held that the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ("IT Act") had to be interpreted in a manner so as to ensure that judicial orders were effective and "not toothless"....

In what has been termed a “defamation blitz”, an Indian corporate house has filed at least 28 defamation suits in courts since January 2018, targetting media and publishing houses, journalists, authors and politicians. Four companies under the Reliance Group have filed these suits objecting to content and reportage published about the company’s commercial activities. This is part of a larger trend in India around defamation suits which raises many questions for publishing houses and authors. ...