TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1960 (10) TMI 106
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....er section 500, Indian Penal Code, against the appellants respect of the news item published on November 16, 1958, under the caption "Explosive situation in Kanpur". The learned Sessions Judges took cognizance of the complaint. After six witnesses were examined on behalf of the suit prosecution, he framed a charge against the appellants for the offence of defamation in that they had published the news item under the caption "Explosive situation in Kanpur" intending to harm or knowing that they were likely to harm the reputation of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The appellants then applied to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad praying that the order of the Court of Session framing a charge for the offence of defamation be set aside. They submitted that there was no evidence that the Home Secretary to the Government of Uttar Pradesh had applied his mind to the facts of the case before sanctioning prosecution of the appellants; that in any event, the publication was not defamatory of the Chief Minister in respect of his conduct in the discharge of his duties as Chief Minister and that the complaint filed by the Public Prosecutor not having been signed ....
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.... statute alleged to be contravened, and purporting to bear the signature of an officer competent to grant the sanction where such sanction is a condition precedent to the exercise of jurisdiction does not invest the court with jurisdiction to try the offence. If the facts which constitute the charge do not appear on the face of the sanction, it must be established by extraneous evidence that those facts were placed before the authority competent to grant the sanction and that the authority applied his mind to those facts before giving sanction. In the present case, the facts constituting the charge appear on the face of the sanction; and evidence has also been led that the facts were placed before the sanctioning authority, that the authority considered the facts and sanctioned the prosecution. 5. Section 198B which deals with a certain category of the offences of defamation of high dignitaries of the State, and of Ministers and public servants in respect of their conduct in discharge of public functions was incorporated in the Code by Act XXVI of 1955. Prior to the incorporation of section 198B, the only condition precedent to the entertainment of a complaint of defamation by a c....
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....f a State; (3) that the defamation is in respect of the person defamed in the discharge of his public functions; (4) that a complaint is made in writing by the Public Prosecutor; (5) that the complaint is made by the Public Prosecutor with the previous sanction of the authorities specified in sub-section (3); and (6) that the complaint is made within six months from the date on which the offence is committed. 7. The Court of Session may entertain a complaint of defamation of the high dignitaries and of Ministers and public servants in respect of their conduct in the discharge of their public functions only if these conditions exist. Section 198 requires that a complaint for defamation may be initiated by the person aggrieved and no period of limitation is prescribed in that behalf. Such a complaint can only be entertained by a Magistrate of the First Class. But section 198-B in the larger public interest, has made a departure from that rule; the accusation is to be entertained not by a Magistrate, but by the Court of Session without a committal with six months of the date of the offence on a complaint in writing by the Public Prosecutor with the previous sanction of the sp....
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....inate clause with which sub-section (1) of section 198B commences is rendered wholly sterile, and unless the context compels such an interpretation, the court will not be justified in adopting it. There is again inherent indication in sections 198 and 198B, which supports the view that section 198B was not intended to be supplementary to section 198, but was intended to provide an alternative remedy in the case of defamation of persons set out in that section. The expression "complaint" as defined in section 4, clause (h) of the Code means "the allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate with a view to his taking action under this Code that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence.....". Every complaint of an offence has to be made to a magistrate competent to take cognizance thereof and not to a Court of Session. A Court of Session under the Code of Criminal Procedure unless otherwise expressly provided, is not competent to entertain a complaint; it can only try a criminal case committed to it. The expression "complaint" in section 198 is manifestly used in the meaning as defined by section 4(h). Even a superficial exam....
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....e exposed to defamatory attacks. The section contemplates the institution of proceedings for defamation of two different classes of persons, (1) high dignitaries like the President, the vice-President, the Governors and Rajpramukhs and (2) Ministers and public servants. It is not disputed that a provision which enables a prosecution to be launched by the State, and at State expense for defamation of members of the first class, having regard to their status in public life, is pre-eminently designed in the public interest, and it would be entirely appropriate that any question of awarding compensation should be raised, even if the complaint for defamation be found to be false and frivolous or vexatious. There can be no doubt that in a democratic set up, in order to maintain purity of public behavior and administration, charges of improper conduct against persons in the second class, in so far as such charges relate to the discharge of their public functions should be investigated. It is also in the public interest that in vindicating his character or conduct, the person defamed should not ordinarily be called upon to bear the burden of what may turn our an expensive and long drawn ou....