Safiya Malik

The Madras High Court has awarded ₹25 lakh in damages to senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and former Union Minister T.R. Baalu in a defamation suit against Junior Vikatan, a Tamil bi-weekly magazine. The court ruled that the publication had made "malicious and defamatory" statements against the plaintiff without verifying facts, thereby tarnishing his reputation. However, the court declined to grant a permanent injunction restraining the magazine from publishing future articles about Baalu.

T.R. Baalu filed a civil suit under Order IV Rule 1 of the Original Side Rules read with Order VII Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) against the editor, publisher, and printer of Junior Vikatan. The suit sought:

1. Compensation of ₹1 crore for alleged defamatory statements published on March 28, 2012, and December 22, 2013.

2. A permanent injunction restraining the magazine from publishing any further defamatory material, including images and caricatures of Baalu or his family.

The first alleged defamatory publication, dated March 28, 2012, was a news article concerning the Sethusamudram Project. Baalu contended that the magazine falsely implied that he had personally benefited from the project while public funds had been wasted. The article used the Tamil word Swaha (!;thfh), commonly associated with religious rituals, which Baalu argued suggested that government funds had disappeared without accountability.

The second publication, dated December 22, 2013, allegedly misrepresented statements made by Baalu at a political meeting. He asserted that he had not spoken at the event in question and that the article falsely attributed to him a statement referring to a national political leader as a "small boy"   , thereby damaging his reputation among political leaders and the public.

The defendants contended that:

• The articles were based on fair and bona fide journalistic reporting and did not constitute defamation.

• Baalu was a public figure and subject to media scrutiny.

• The suit regarding the 2012 publication was time-barred under the law of limitation, as defamation claims must be filed within one year of publication.

• The statements in the 2013 article were already in the public domain, having been published by multiple newspapers.

The court held that the claim regarding the 2012 article was indeed time-barred and could not be adjudicated. However, it found that the 2013 publication was defamatory. The court noted: "The defendants have not produced any oral or documentary evidence to disprove the evidence of the plaintiff and his witnesses. The publication was made without proper verification or confirming the veracity of the statements attributed to the plaintiff."

Regarding journalistic responsibility, the court observed: "While the press enjoys the freedom to publish news, this liberty must be exercised with due diligence. The publication of unverified and misleading statements that tarnish an individual's reputation cannot be justified under the right to free speech."

The court rejected the defendants’ argument that their report was based on information gathered from sources at the meeting, stating that: "The defendants have admitted that the meeting was closed to the press, yet they claim to have reported based on personal knowledge and external sources. This is inadequate to establish the truth of the statements published."

The court found that Baalu’s reputation had been damaged and ruled that he was entitled to compensation.

1. Compensation Awarded – The defendants were directed to pay ₹25 lakh to T.R. Baalu within one month.

2. No Permanent Injunction – The court refused to impose a blanket ban on future publications about Baalu, stating that: "While the plaintiff is entitled to protection against defamatory content, a blanket restriction on reporting about a public figure would be excessive."

3. Right to Recover from Publisher – The court allowed the defendants to recover the compensation amount from Vasan Publications Pvt. Ltd., the parent company of Junior Vikatan.

Case Title: T.R. Baalu v. R. Kannan & Others
Case Number: C.S. No. 252 of 2014
Bench: Justice A.A. Nakkiran

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