Karnataka High Court refuses to quash defamation case by Divya Spandana against Asianet News Network, journalist

The Karnataka High Court has refused to quash the defamation case filed by actress and former Lok Sabha MP Divya Spandana against Asianet News Network and journalist Vishweshwar Bhat. [Asianet News Network and Ors v. Divya Spandana].Justice S Viswajith Shetty noted that as per the complaint, the accused had depicted the actress being involved in cricket betting and spot fixing, knowing fully well that it could cause damage to her reputation. "According to the complainant, the accused persons have made visible representation depicting as if the petitioner was involved in cricket betting and spot fixing, knowing very well or having reason to believe that the same is likely to cause damage to the reputation of the complainant. Therefore, it cannot be said that there is no prima facie case against the accused to stand trial for the offence punishable under Section 500 of IPC," the Court noted in its order dated March 4..In 2013, the actress had filed a defamation complaint against Asianet News Network, its channel Suvarana News and Bhatt. As per the complaint, the accused had carried a program called 'Betting Raniyaru' (betting queens) where they claimed that Spandana was one of the actresses involved in a cricket betting and spot fixing scandal.On June 13, 2016, a trial court issued summons to the accused. Aggrieved, they approached the High Court. .Advocate Sudharsan Suresh, appearing for the accused, contended that the alleged offences did not involve any libel or slander and the same was also reported by other media sources.He argued that the accused were covered under the fourth exception to Section 499 (defamation) of IPC, which says that publishing a true report of court proceedings or their results does not amount to defamation.Therefore, he stated that proceedings before the trial court would amount to an abuse of the process of law and sought quashing of the proceedings..The Court noted that as per the complaint, the news was specifically telecast in a manner depicting the actress as being involved in the scandal. Spandana claimed that this act seriously dented her reputation and led to her facing enquiries from peers about the correctness of the news..The Court observed that after a plain reading of Section 499, it was clear that it covered the alleged act of the accused.Further, the Court noted that to support their claim of being covered by the fourth exception to Section 499, the accused had not produced evidence to show that the actress was facing court proceedings for being involved in the betting scandal.It clarified that whether or not the accused intended to dent the reputation or the actress, was subject matter of trial. Therefore, it refused to quash the proceedings before the trial court..[Read Order]