M K PRABHAKRAN Vs. T E GANGADHARAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are the accused in S.T.No.1910 of 2003 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrates Court, North Paravur. The petitioners seek to quash Annexure C complaint filed against them by the first respondent herein.

(2.) The first respondent-complainant filed Annexure C complain before the court below stating that the written statement filed by the accused-defendants 1 and 3 in O.S.No.481 of 2000 pending before the Sub Court, Ernakulam contained defamatory statement against him. According to the complainant, the suit was filed by his wife for partition and he is not a party to the suit. The plaintiff and defendants are close relation. In paragraph 12 of the written statement, it is stated that the father of the first accused who is the brother of the plaintiff in the suit placing utmost faith in the plaintiff and her husband, the first respondent herein, who is a practicing lawyer at the Paravur Bar, affixed his signature wherever he was asked to sign by the first respondent and that the first respondent misusing the trust reposed on him created materials to appropriate the plain schedule properties. Alleging that the petitioners made imputation against the complainant intending to harm his reputation, he filed the complaint against the petitioners for commission of offence punishable under Section 500 read with Section 34 I.P.C.

(3.) Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the statement contained in the written statement filed in O.S.No.481 of 2000, in which the petitioners are defendants 1 and 3, are correct and there was no malice in incorporating such statements in the written statement. Counsel further contended that any statement made in good faith will come under exception (8) to section 499 I.P.C. To substantiate this contention, learned counsel for the petitioners produced Annexure A plaint and Annexure B written statement in O.S.No.481 of 2000. According to the learned counsel, Annexure C complaint is an abuse of the process of the court and seeks to quash the same by invoking the jurisdiction of this court under section 482 Cr.P.C.