Elected representative voicing concern about murder investigation not defamation: Kerala High Court

An elected representative expressing concern about a murder investigation and pushing the government for strict action against the perpetrators does not amount to defamation, the Kerala High Court has ruled [Philip Mathew & Anr. V Shri.P. Jayarajan & Anr.]..Justice CS Dias made the observation while quashing a defamation case filed over the publication of certain remarks by former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) KM Shaji, in which he had urged for strong action against perpetrators in the Shukoor murder case..“Being a representative of the people of his constituency, he appealed to the Government, for and on behalf of the masses, to take strict action against the perpetrators, to deter such persons from indulging in gruesome murders…by no semblance of imagination can the above statement be labeled to be an insinuation falling within the sweep of Section 499 of the IPC,” the Court held..The Court added that there was no intention on the part of media outlet, Malayala Manorama, to defame anyone when it carried news reports on Shaji's speech. Therefore, it quashed the defamation case against Shaji as well as the Managing Editor and the Publisher of Malayala Manorama..The defamation complaint had been filed by P Jayarajan, Secretary of the Kannur District Committee of CPI(M) on October 7, 2012. Jayarajan claimed that Shaji, who was then an MLA representing the Azhikode Constituency in Kannur, had defamed him during a press conference. The next day, two media channels (Malayala Manorama and Chandrika Daily) published versions of Shaji's statements.This led Jayarajan to file a defamation complaint, alleging that Shaji had falsely accused him of causing the death of one Sareesh who was an accused in the Shukoor murder case. As per the complaint, Shaji had insinuated that letting the Jayarajan and other leaders of the CPIM go unpunished would escalate the death toll in the Shukoor murder case..The High Court, however, opined that Shaji had merely urged the government to thoroughly investigate the alleged suicide of Sareesh.The Court added that Shaji had only expressed concern about the rising murder cases in Kannur and advocated for a serious examination of the charges in the Shukoor case since minor offences were being charged against certain individuals like the complainant.The Court concluded that such statements do not qualify as defamation under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Therefore, it quashed the case against Shaji and the Malayala Manorama representatives (petitioners). .The petitioners were represented by advocates Milu Dandapani, Sumathy Dandapani, Santosh Mathew, Arun Thomas, Jennis Stephen, S Kabeer, Sathish Ninan and Babu S Nair.The complainant and the State government were represented by advocates Ben Tom, Lizamma Augustine, Ron Bastian, Sebastian Paul and Public Prosecutor Seetha S..[Read Order]