ADITYA RAJ KAUL Vs. NAEEM AKHTER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners have challenged the complaint filed by the respondent against them before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, alleging commission of offences under Sec. 499 and 500 RPC, as also the order dtd. 27/12/2018 passed by the said Magistrate whereby cognizance of the offences has been taken and process has been issued against the petitioners. They have also challenged order dtd. 23/2/2019 passed by learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, whereby bailable warrants for securing attendance of the petitioners have been issued.

(2.) Petitioner No.3 happens to be the Editor-in-Chief of the news channels Republic TV and Republic Bharat/R. Bharat and Managing Director of ARG Outlier Media Asianet News Pvt. Ltd. whereas petitioners No.1, 2 and 4 are associated with the aforesaid news channels.

(3.) It emerges from the record of the trial court that the respondent (complainant herein., a member of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party, who was also a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly besides being leader of the Legislative Party, JKPDP at the relevant time, filed a complaint against the petitioners (accused hereinafter. before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar. In the complaint it was alleged that on July 4th, 2018, the news channel of petitioner No.3 broadcast a defamatory and malicious news segment against the complainant following a letter dated June 21st, 2018, written by one Mr. Khalid Jahangir, member of Bhartiya Janta Party and former VC of J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC., to the Governor , wherein Mr. Khalid Jahangir had leveled allegations of corruption and favouritism against a close aide of former Chief Minister of the State. According to the complainant, even though the letter did not make a mention of name of any person, yet petitioner No.3, while reporting about the said letter, deliberately and intentionally mentioned the name of complainant in connection with the allegations leveled in the aforementioned letter of Mr. Khalid Jahangir.