KRISHNASWAMI Vs. C H KANARAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Revision petition arises out of a private complaint filed by one C. H. Kanaran, Secretary, Kerala State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Trivandrum, who is the petitioner herein against the respondent, one P. Krishnaswamy, Printer and Publisher of the Indian Express, which is an English daily published at Madurai, charging offences under Ss, 500 and 501 IPC., for publication of a news item in its issue dated 11-8-67.

(2.) The impugned news item marked as Ext. P1 (b) reads as follows:

(3.) The District Magistrate (Judicial), Trivandrum, who conducted the trial in the case on examination of pws. 1 to 4 as well as Exts. P1 to P5 and Dl to D18 and after hearing the arguments of the respective counsel who appeared in the case, came to the conclusion under S.253(1) Cr. P. C, that no case against the revision petitioner has been made out, which if unrebutted would warrant his conviction and consequently the learned Magistrate discharged the revision petitioner under that Section. The 1st respondent, the complainant, filed Crl. R. P. in the first instance before the Addl. Sessions Judge, Trivandrum, against the order of acquittal. The learned Addl. Sessions Judge found that the 1st respondent is a person aggrieved of the false imputation contained in Ext. P1 (b) publication under S.198 Cr. P. C. and, therefore, he was competent to institute the complaint. Accordingly, the Additional Sessions Judge set aside the order of acquittal passed by the District Magistrate and directed him to frame charges against the revision petitioner under S.500 and 501 IPC., and conduct further enquiry into the complaint. It was against that order by the Additional Sessions Judge that the present criminal revision petition is preferred by the accused in C. C. 82/67 on the file of the court of the District Magistrate, (Judicial) Trivandrum.