R K KARANIJA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner No. 1 Sri R.K. Karanjia is the Editor of Hindi Weekly Magazine 'Blitz', and petitioner No. 2 is its publisher. Opposite party No. 2 Sri Bindeshwar Pathak is the Chairman of 'Sulabh International', a social voluntary registered Organisation having its office at South Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Both the petitioners have been convicted under Sections 500 and 501 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to pay fine of Rs. 500/- each and in default in payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for one month. The appeal filed by the petitioners was dismissed by the Appellate Court.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that the complainant-opposite party No. 2 filed a complaint petition before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patna, under Sections 500 and 501 of the Indian Penal Code against the petitioners. It is alleged in the complaint petition that the petitioners published an article in Hindi Edition of the weekly magazine 'Blitz' dated 28-5-1983 under the heading "KANOON TAK BADAL DALE" for the purpose of maligning and defaming the reputation and fame of the complainant and his organisation. The offending passages are contained in paragraphs III and IV of the Report.

(3.) The question for consideration was whether paragraphs III and IV of the Report were defamatory. Para-III was re-production of the statement made by Jay Kumar Palit on the floor of the House that the complainant should be arrested for misusing the fund of the Organisation. The other news item related to the statement of Munshilal Roy, an M.L.A., Vidhan Sabha that Sulabh Sansthan was bogus Organisation. Jay Kumar Palit stated that the complainant was the biggest fraud. The relevant extract of the proceedings of Bihar Legislative Assembly was produced in Court. The Court found that full texts of the proceeding had not been quoted in the news- items. The plea of the petitioners was that under Article 361 (A) of the Constitution of India the petitioners are fully protected from any prosecution.