S BALASUBRAMANIAN Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two writ petitions have been filed by the very same petitioner who, during the relevant period of time, was the Editor of "Ananda Vikadan" a Tamil weekly having its registered Office at No. 758, Anna Salai, Madras-2. W.P. No. 4203 of 1987 has been filed for a writ of declaration, declaring that the Resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly dated 4-4-1987 sentencing the petitioner to three months rigorous imprisonment as unconstitutional, null and void, illegal and unenforceable. W.P. No. 4202 of 1987 has been filed for a writ of mandamus, directing the respondents to compensate the petitioner for the alleged flagrant violation claimed to have been committed of the petitioner's fundamental rights on account of imposing of a rigorous imprisonment for three months.

(2.) The controversy between the parties hereto has its origin centering around a cartoon published on the outer wrapper rather the front cover page of the Tamil weekly 'Ananda Vikadan' bearing the date of issue 29-3-1987. It is an accepted fact that the particular issue in question was available at the news stand for sale to the members of the public on 27-3-1987 itself. The cartoon picturised the dais of a public meeting with audience in front thereof in addition portraying some persons also seated on the dais. In the fore-front, two persons are shown to be prominently sitting in two chairs in front of the mike. Behind those two persons, two other persons were shown to be sitting less prominently with a Police Constable standing in between those seated behind. Below the said picture, a conversation in the form of a query and a reply among two of the audience has been printed in Tamil which if translated in English reads as hereunder:- "Of the two persons on the stage, who is the M.L.A. and who is the Minister?" "The person who looks like a pick-pocket is the M.L.A. and the person who looks like a masked dacoit is the Minister........"

(3.) On 28-3-1987 when the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly was in session, one of the members of the Assembly by name N. S. V. Chindhan appears to have raised an issue out of the above referred to cartoon as offending and ridiculing the members of the Legislature by describing them as anti-social elements and that such things must be put an end to. The then Speaker of the Assembly appears to have made a statement while condemning that publication that it was brought to his notice by some sections of the House and the said publication in his opinion is derogatory and which was aimed and calculated to damage the reputation of the members of the House in general and moreso, the Ministers in particular. While elucidating on the issue by stating that a man's reputation is a man's property and under the guise of freedom of press, one would expect to preserve and promote the freedom of citizen first before talking about democracy and that the press has a duty not to damage the reputation of the M.L.As. and Ministers to push and promote the sales of the journal in the market. The statement of the Speaker is said to be the ruling of the Chair and it proceeded further to state that the reputation of the M.L.As. has been injured by such publication and on behalf of the members of the House, the Speaker demands and orders "Ananda Vikatan" to publish in the front page their apology for the said publication making it known that failing which summary sentence will be passed by the House itself. This was said to have been followed by cheers. The then Speaker also appears to have further stated that such irresponsible publication was possible because the defamatory laws are not so stringent and the Writers and Editors know that the protracted and prolonged trial, dissuade one from having recourse to a Court of law for redress. An appeal to the journals to condemn such irresponsible publication in order to preserve the freedom of the Members was also said to have been made. A further reference is also made to certain yellow journals - gutter journals - publications having aim only to mar the reputation of the M.L.As. in the eyes of the public and thereby cause irreparable loss to the system of democracy itself, by indulging in such activities and the Speaker warns such irresponsible press that the Legislature is a Court of Record and it will take cognizance in future (of) such publications and deal with them straightway to prevent such gutter publications. The statement further notices by way of recollection the punishment meted out to a journalist in Tamil Nadu by sending him to undergo three months imprisonment by the Supreme Court, in addition to making him go to every Judge's house and apologise before entering the jail to serve the sentence. A request was also said to have been made to construe the same as precedent and followed as precedents. Nobody has a right to mar the reputation of M.L.As. and Ministers and the recently started weeklies and magazines are prone to such libellous publications and tend to lower the reputation of the Dailies and Journals with long heritage like 'Ananda Vikatan'.