BABURAO PATEL DR Vs. BAL THAKARAY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in this petition is the complainant in Criminal Case No. 47/S of 1976 pending in the Court of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate, 33rd Court, Ballard Pier, Bombay. That criminal case has been initiated on a complaint filed by the petitioner charging the respondent who is accused in that case with offences punishable under sections 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. From the evidence which has already come on record in the case and from the averments made in this petition it appears that the petitioner is a journalist and the editor of a Magazine called "Mother India" while the respondent-accused is also a journalist being the editor of a Marathi Magazine called "Marmik". The evidence also shows that the respondent is a leader of an organization known as "Shiv Sena" in Bombay.

(2.) In the Marmik issue of 24th March, 1974 there appeared an article containing several allegations against the petitioner. From what has been shown to us of that article it appears this article was partly baseless. It is not necessary for us to refer to the contents of the article of 24th March, 1974 because that is the subject-matter of the charge under sections 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. The petitioner was offended by the contents of that article and therefore he filed a criminal complainant in the Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate, Bombay, charging the accused with offences punishable under sections 504 and 506 or the Indian Penal Code.

(3.) The complainant was filed on 12th May, 1975. In the complaint he has mentioned several parts of the article in the Marmik issue which according to him are objectionable for the grounds mentioned in that complaint. He alleges that the article contains several insulting words and threats and he says that looking at the nature of the insult and threats and in the present climate of murder, violence terrorism and serious view ought to be taken of those offences so as to restore a sense of security in him in relation to the threats of the accused. He accordingly charged the accused of the offences mentioned above.