LALA LAJPAT RAI Vs. ENGLISHMAN LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a suit by. the plaintiff to recover against the defendants (who are the proprietors, the editors and the printer and publisher of a daily newspaper called the Englishman, published in Calcutta) damages for an alleged libel on the plaintiff published in the Englishman on the 10 September 1907.

(2.) The plaintiff is a pleader practising in the Chief Court of the Punjab at Lahore, where he appears to enjoy a considerable professional reputation. The plaintiff has also identified himself with various religious and charitable movements. In politics also the plaintiff has taken an active part, and for some years he has been one of the foremost members of the Indian National Congress.

(3.) The plaintiff's position in the Punjab may be from the evidence described as that of a man of considerable importance and influence.