RANJANA SEHGAL Vs. JACOB THUDIPARA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicant/accused has preferred this petition under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. for quashment of order dated 18/09/2015 passed by Judicial Magistrate First Class, Indore in Criminal Case No. 29917/2015, whereby the cognizance has been taken against the applicant for commission of offence punishable under Section 500 of the IPC.

(2.) Briefly stated facts of the case are that on 07/06/2011, the applicant filed an application under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act , 2005 (in short ' RTI Act ', for inquiring certain information regarding the educational qualification of the respondent /complainant. The respondent/complainant being the Public Information Officer refused to provide any information. Then the applicant preferred an appeal before the First Appellate Authority, which was rejected. Thereafter, the applicant moved Second appeal before the M.P. State Information Commission, Bhopal and the same was allowed vide order dated 22/07/2014 and the respondent/complainant was directed to provide desired information to the applicant on free of cost. Thereafter, a news item was published in the daily newspaper 'Nai Dunia' on 09/08/2014, pertaining to the order of the State Information Commission. Thus, the respondent vide letter dated 22.08.2014 sought clarification from the applicant regarding the said article and threatened the applicant to initiate the defamation proceedings which was promptly denied by the applicant stating that there is no statement by her nor was the article published on her behest. But the respondent/complainant had filed complaint against the applicant for the offence punishable under Section 500 of I.P.C. before the Judicial Magistrate First Class and vide order dated 18.09.2015, the learned Magistrate has taken cognizance against the applicant for the said offence. The applicant challenged the aforesaid order before the revisional court by filing the revision application under Section 397 of Cr.P.C. which was dismissed vide order dated 10.05.2016 by the 19 th Additional Sessions Judge, Indore and the same is subject matter of challenge in the present petition.

(3.) Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that there was no statement or comment by the applicant which was published alongwith article in the news paper "Nai Duniya" on 09.08.2014. The said news item was reported by the journalist of the newspaper without any instructions or comment or on behest of the applicant. No element can be said to be present in the newspaper article which can be attributed to the applicant directly or indirectly. It is further submitted that if the allegations made in the complaint taken on its face value does not prima facie constitute an offence under Section 500 of the I.P.C. The news report cannot be said to have initiated any accusation against the respondent/complainant with a purpose of tarnishing his image. Mere reporting of an order passed by an authority directing compliance cannot be said to be within ambit of work 'defamation' as defined in Section 499 of the IPC. Thus, the learned Magistrate has committed an error in taking cognizance against the applicant for commission of offence under Section 500 of the I.P.C.