INDU JAIN Vs. NCT OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Section 482 CrPC for quashing of criminal complaint No. 343/1/2002 filed on 16.4.2002 and summoning orders dated 26.6.2007 issued against the petitioners by the learned M.M. for the alleged offence under Section 499/500/501/502 read with 34 IPC. Petitioner No. 1 and 2 are Chairperson and Managing Director respectively of M/s. Bennett Coleman and Co.Ltd. which is a company having various publications and magazines under its banner like the Times of India, Financial Times, Economic Times, Sandhya Times etc. Respondent No. 2 is a coaching institute for providing assistance to the students aspiring to clear the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

(2.) The criminal complaint was filed by respondent No. 2 alleging that in the 18 th February, 2002 issue of Education Times, which is a sister publication of Times of India, a defamatory article regarding the respondent institute was published causing huge loss to the goodwill and reputation of the respondent institute. It is alleged in the complaint that due to the offending article, the image and reputation of the complainant had greatly reduced in the eyes of the students, parents and general public. It was on the basis of this complaint that impugned summoning orders were issued against the petitioners.

(3.) The impugned summoning orders are challenged by the counsel for petitioners on the ground that in the complaint, there is no act or omission attributed to the petitioners and they are arrayed as parties merely because of their being Chairman and Managing Director of the Company and they have nothing to do with the impugned publications and are not involved with the making, printing or publishing the impugned news items. Reliance is placed on Section 5 and 7 of the Press and Registration of Books Act and the judgment of K.M.Mathew Vs. State of Kerala, 1992 1 SCC 217, Shobhna Bhartia and Ors. Vs. NCT of Delhi and Ors.,2008 1 JCC 327and K.Jagannatha Shetty vs Yogeshwar Dayal, 1992 AIR(SC) 2206.