N RAM Vs. SIBY MATHEW

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 2715 of 1996 has been filed by one Mr. N. Ram, Editor, Frontline Biweekly and Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 2564 of 1997 has been filed by Mr. T. S. Subramanyan and Mr. S. Rangarajan, who are the Columnist, and Printer and Publisher of the Frontline Biweekly respectively and all the three are the accused in the complaint in C.C. No. 111 of 1996 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Trivandrum, filed by Mr. Siby Mathew, I.P.S., the then Deputy Director General of Police, Trivandrum, under S.500, 501 and 502 read with S.34 IPC. Now, the present Miscellaneous Cases have been filed to quash the above said complaint, under S.482 Cr.P.C.

(2.) The facts as narrated by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners and the learned counsel appearing for the first respondent complainant for appreciating their respective contentions can be briefly stated hereunder: A case was registered in Crime No. 225 of 1994 on 20.10.1994 in the Vanchiyoor Police Station regarding the overstay of two ladies, namely, Fauziya Hassan and Mariam Rasheeda, who hailed from Maldives and during the investigation of the said case the police came to know that they were collecting secret informations from the Indian Space Research Organisation with the help of the Officers like Mr. Nambi Narayanan, Project Director, Cryogenic Systems Project, ISRO and Dr. Sasikumaran, General Manager, Fabrications, Cryo engine. Therefore, another case was registered in Crime No. 246 of 1994 of the same police station on 13.11.1994 under S.3 and 4 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 read with S.34 IPC on the basis of the written complaint lodged by S. Vijayan, Sub Inspector of Police, Special Branch. While the cases were being investigated by the Kerala State Police, they were transferred to the C.B.I. for investigation. The C.B.I. thoroughly investigated both the crimes and also examined the investigation already conducted by the Kerala local police as well as the Kerala Special Branch Police and filed a report before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam stating that the allegations of espionage against all the accused were false. The learned Magistrate thoroughly examined the report submitted by the C.B.I. (R. C. 11(S)/94/C.B.I.), agreed with the report and finally recorded the finding discharging all the six accused on 2.5.1996.

(3.) Thereafter, an article on the head "A witch hunt ends", written by one of the petitioners, Mr. T. S. Subramanyan, was published in the Front Line Biweekly dated 31.5.1996. This article according to the first respondent complainant contains scandalous imputations which ultimately harmed the reputation of the Kerala State Police before the eye of the public. And by this publication, the petitioners have made slander in order to lower the dignity of the Kerala Police and for remedying the injury inflicted on the morales on the police force, the first respondent complainant has filed the above said complaint.