The top court observed Tamil Nadu was the only state that used the government machinery to fight defamation cases after a petition alleged the Jayalalithaa administration was misusing the law.“You can’t slap defamation cases on people for reporting on the chief minister’s health condition,” the apex court said.
A Bench, led by Justice Dipak Misra, perused the history of defamation cases filed in the past five years and said criminal defamation cases were filed even for reports about the Chief Minister’s health condition.
“This is not the way… this is not the sign of a healthy democracy.On August 17, the government provided the Supreme Court with a list of defamation cases filed by the State through the public prosecutor in the past five years.
The list shows a spectrum of cases filed against the DMK, the DMDK, the Congress, the media and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.The PMK has nine cases and the Congress seven.
The Jaya government seems to be getting increasingly upset with its critics. It lodged 120 defamation cases between 2002 and 2006. Before it, the DMK government filed 40 cases during its five years in office beginning 2006.
Defamation, described as a “reasonable restriction” on free speech in Constitution, has been a topic of debate. Free speech advocates see it as a tool to silence critics and suppress dissent.
In May last, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of criminal defamation law -- Section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code that prescribes two-year jail term or fine or both for damaging someone’s reputation.
During an earlier hearing on a similar defarmation case against Mr. Vijaykanth for remarks made in Dharmapuri district, Justice Misra had orally observed that a 'public prosecutor is not a postman' to settle political scores. The next hearing of the case is scheduled on 22 September.