PRIYA Vs. M. ROZARIO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) That the Petitioners have approached this Court to quash the proceedings that is a private complaint filed by the Respondent herein before the Learned Judicial Magistrate at Uthagamandalam, Nilgris District in Calendar Case No.171 of 2011 for the alleged offence under section 499 and 500 of IPC. At the time of filing of the instant petition, these petitioners were directed by the learned Judicial Magistrate by issuing summons to appear before him on 19.12.2011.

(2.) As per the version of the counsel for the petitioners and the perusal of the complaint in C.C.No.171 of 2011 on the file of the aforesaid Court, it is ascertained that all these petitioners are actors in Tamil cinema. The genesis of the instant case could be traced that on 03.10.2009, a cine actress was arrested under the provisions of Immoral Trafficking (Prevention Act) and same was published almost in all the electronic media in Tamil Nadu. As such, the morning Tamil daily Dinamalar by its publication dated 04.10.2009 published a news item with a comment Periya Vibachara Nadigaiga and also published the photographs of six other leading heroines including the photograph of the 1st Petitioner at page No.11 in the Chennai Edition.

(3.) Feeling aggrieved, the 1st Petitioner and some other actresses brought the said news item to the South Indian Artist Association for legal action against the persons for the defamatory publication. The said Association decided to lodge a complaint and accordingly on 05.10.2009 a complaint was lodged before the Commissioner of Police, Chennai. Subsequently, the news editor of Dinamalar news paper was arrested on 07.09.2010. However, the Defacto-complainant filed the aforesaid complaint stating that under the aforesaid circumstances on 07.10.2000 a meeting was organized by the South Indian Actors Association at Swami Sangaradass Hall, Chennai.