AROON PURIE Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners have invoked the jurisdiction of this Court under the provisions of Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. and have prayed that the criminal complaint bearing No. 192-1 of 15.12.2003 titled "Mukesh Garg v. Aroon Purie and others", as also the summoning order dated 13.10.2004 passed in pursuance thereto be quashed.

(2.) AN article which appeared in the weekly magazine, namely, "India Today" published by Living Media India Ltd., New Delhi of which petitioner No. 1 is the Editor-in-Chief, whereas petitioner No. 2 is the Publishing Director and petitioner No. 3 is the Editor, Printer and Publisher, irked the respondent No. 2-complainant which led to the filing of the aforesaid complaint against the petitioners with the allegations that they have committed an offence punishable under Sections 499 and 500 of the I.P.C. as the contents thereof were defamatory and derogatory to the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (hereinafter referred to as 'the R.S.S.') of which organisation he is a member.

(3.) FINDING his sensibility offended by the above reproduced article and especially the words emphasized, the complainant, who claimed himself to be Seh Zila Karayvahak of the R.S.S. and also associated with Hindu Siksha Samiti, Bharat Vikas Parishad and Adhivakta Parishad, served a legal notice dated 10.9.2003 upon the petitioners and asked them to publish an unconditional apology in the next issue of the magazine and to withdraw the false and frivolous allegations qua the R.S.S.