SANTOSH TEWARI Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Section 482, Cr.P.C. has been filed for quashing the complaint and the summoning order dated February 3, 1994.

(2.) THE complaint-respondent No. 2 Nirbhai Mehrotra was initially appointed as Accountant in the Kamla Nehru Hospital, Allahabad and was subsequently designated as Deputy Director (Finance). A news item was published in "Our Leader" a English daily on October 13, 1994 of which applicant No. 1 Santosh Tewari is the publisher, applicant No. 2 Anupam Mishra is the editor and applicant No. 3 H.P. Srivastava is the working editor. The respondent No. 2 Nirbhai Mehrotra felt that the news item defamed him and accordingly he filed a criminal complaint for prosecuting the applicants under Section 500, I.P.C. in the Court of C.J.M. Ist, Allahabad on January 15, 1994. The learned Magistrate after recording the statement of the complainant under Section 200, Cr.P.C. and that of two witnesses under Section 202, Cr.P.C. passed an order on February 3, 1994 summoning the applicants to face trial under Section 500 I.P.C.

(3.) FREEDOM of speech and expression is one of the most cherished right of a citizen in a free society. It will be appropriate to recall the famous words of Voltaire: