NARINDER BATRA & ANR Vs. KIRTI AZAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IA No.8473/2016 (of the defendant under Order 7, Rule 11 CPC).

(2.) The suit was entertained and the defendant, besides filing the written statement (to which replication has been filed), has filed this application under Order 7, Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC). The counsels were heard on the application on 23rd Aug., 2016 and 7th Sept., 2016 and order reserved.

(3.) The defendant seeks rejection of the plaint on the ground that (i) allegedly defamatory statements attributed to him are privileged and are made by the defendant as a public representative to the authorities in the Government seeking investigation by the authorities of various irregularities and cannot constitute defamation; (ii) that the allegations in the plaint are vague; (iii) that the plaintiffs have not made any averments or specific pleading in respect of publication of the allegedly defamatory statements; the averments in the plaint are wholly based on documents which have been obtained by the plaintiffs under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005; and, (iv) that the plaintiffs in the plaint have loosely used the word "libel" or "defamation", without substantiating the same.