SEBASTIAN PAUL Vs. DEEPAK J.M.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused No.1 in S.T.No.3 of 2017 on the files of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Thiruvananthapuram, a lawyer cum journalist, has filed this petition under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C to quash the proceedings in the said case.

(2.) The allegation against the petitioner is that he made a speech at a gathering of journalists in Thrissur on 20/10/2016 denigrating the lawyer community and thereby committed the offence under Sec. 500 I.P.C. The above speech was made at a time when there existed strife between the lawyers and journalists in Kerala in connection with some incidents of tussle between them. According to the complainant, a practising lawyer at Thiruvananthapuram, who preferred a private complaint against the petitioner and 54 other persons associated with the main stream and online media, the petitioner compared the lawyer community with street dogs in the above speech which was published and telecasted by the print and visual media throughout Kerala. The above complaint was taken into files by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvananthapuram, and summons ordered to all the accused.

(3.) The accused Nos.2 to 8, accused Nos.16 to 19, accused Nos.34 to 37 and accused Nos.49 to 52 had filed Crl.M.C.No.4139/2017, Crl.M.C.No.5383/2017, Crl.M.C.No.5352/2017 and Crl.M.C.No.6185/2017 respectively before this Court challenging the proceedings initiated against them in S.T.No.3/2017 by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate. As per order dtd. 20/2/2018, a learned Single Judge of this Court allowed the above petitions and quashed all further proceedings against the respective petitioners (Accused Nos.2 to 8, accused Nos.16 to 19, accused Nos.34 to 37 and accused Nos.49 to 52) in the said cases.