P KARUNAKARAN Vs. C JAYASOORYAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners are the accused in C.C.318 of 1991 on the file of the Court of the Additional Judicial Magistrate of the First Class, Thalassery. First respondent filed the complaint under S.500 and 501 read with S.34 of the I.P.C. alleging that the news item published in the Deshabhimani Daily in its Kozhikode Edition dated 26-5-1991 with respect to the cremation of Rajiv Gandhi, President of the Congress (I) is false, mischievous and politically motivated. The report stated about the insufficiency of sandal wood pieces for the cremation. The first respondent alleged that on account of the publication of the said news report the members of the Indian National Congress (I) have been lowered down in public estimation and that this is per se defamatory.

(2.) S.199 Cr.P.C. lays down an exception to the general rule that a complaint can be filed by any body whether aggrieved or not and modifies that rule by permitting only an aggrieved person to make a complaint [See G. Narasimhan v. T.V. Chokkappa ( AIR 1972 SC 2609 )]. With regard to offences under S.499 to 502 coming within Chap.21 of the I.P.C. an aggrieved person alone can file the complaint. Thus, from S.199 (1) it can be seen that only an aggrieved person can initiate the complaint. In other words, the Court will not take cognizance of an offence punishable under Chap.21 of the I.P.C. except upon a complaint made by an aggrieved person.

(3.) Explanation.2 to S.499 I.P.C. states that an association, a company or a collection of persons is capable of being defamed. But it must be borne in mind that such persons must be a definite and determinable body. Then only the imputation could be said to relate to its members or components. If there is some definite body of persons capable of being identified, it can definitely be said that the defamatory statement applies to them all. But in a case where it is not so, it would not be possible to single out individual or individuals and say that he or they are defamed. In other words, imputations must be capable of being aimed at particular individuals or collection of individuals capable of being ascertained. From the alleged defamatory statement it is not possible to hold that it relates to any particular individual or individuals. Nor is it possible to hold that it is defamatory to the Congress (I) Party.