R KANNAN EDITOR Vs. CITY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Original Petition has been filed to quash the proceedings initiated against the petitioners for an offence punishable under Section 500, 501 and 501 r/w 109 IPC.

(2.) The complaint has been filed through the City Public Prosecutor under Section 199 (2) of Cr.P.C., r/w the relevant Government Orders.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that even if the allegations made in the complaint are taken as it is, the same does not constitute defamatory allegations with respect to the act or conduct of the then Chief Minister in discharge of her public functions and at the best it can only be treated as a personal defamation. Therefore, the learned counsel submitted that such a complaint cannot be maintained through the City Public Prosecutor and it does not satisfy the requirements under Section 199(2) of Cr.P.C. The learned counsel in order to substantiate his submissions relied upon the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in K.K.Mishra v. The State of Madhya Pradesh and Anr. , 2018 2 LW(Cri) 17 and R.Avudayappan v. Muthukaruppan Public Prosecutor District and Sessions Court Tirunelveli District,2018 2 LW (Cri) 24.