Book extracts on CM: HC junks Koustav Bagchi’s plea

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday dismissed advocate and BJP leader Koustav Bagchi’s plea challenging a trial court order issuing summons in a defamation case over his online republication of pages from a 2015 book that discussed the personal life of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Justice Apurba Sinha Ray held that a public prosecutor may file a defamation complaint on behalf of a minister only when the alleged statements concern the minister’s public or official functions.

If the remarks relate purely to personal matters, the aggrieved person must ordinarily act in an individual capacity. However, when private conduct is linked to occurrences in official spaces, the court said evidence may justify the prosecutor’s involvement. The judge observed that every republication of defamatory material constitutes a fresh cause of action, making the re-publisher independently liable unless justification is shown. Referring to the book’s express restriction on reproduction, the court noted that copyright and permission issues are relevant to the case.

Underscoring that a public prosecutor must apply an independent mind and not act as a “post office,” the court termed its observations tentative and upheld the trial court’s summons.