 bill no 103 of 1988 the defamation bill, 1988 a  ^ ^ bill ;to consolidate and amend the law relating to defamation and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretob e it enacted by parliam ent in the thirty-ninth year of the republic of india as follow s:— i chapter i p relim inary; 1 (1) "hiis act m ay be called the defam ation act, 1988 short title, ex(2) it extends to the whole of india, except the state of jam m u and k ashm ir i ! i commence­ment(3) it shall come into force on such date as the central govern­m ent may, by notification in the ofbcial gazette, appoint, and different 10 dates m ay be appointed for different provisions of this actdefinition2 (j) in this act, unless the context otherw ise requires,—(a) "code'' means the code of crim inal procedure, 1973;2 of 1974(b) words and expressions used but not defined in this act and defined in the code shall have the meanings respectively assigned15 to them  in the code , i '(2) a ny refsrence in this a ct to the code or any provision thereof shall, in relation to an area in w hich the code or such provision is not in force, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law  or the relevant provision of the corresponding law, if any, in force in th a t area chapter ii ^ d efamatbdn3 w hoever by words, either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, m akes or publishes any im putation concerning any person intending to harm , or know ing or having reason to believe th at such im putation w ill harm  the reputation of such person, jq is said, except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defam e th a t personexplanation i—^it m ay am ount to defam ation to im pute anything to a deceased person, if the im putation w ould harm  the reputation of th at person, if living, and is intended to be h u rtfu l to the feelings of his fam ily or other near relatives i15explanation ii— it m ay am ount to defam ation to m ake an im puta­tion concerning a com pany or an association or collection of persons as such iex'planation iii—an im putation in the form  of an alternative or expressed ironically, m ay am ount to defam ationexplanation iv—no im putation is said to harm  a person's reputa­tion unless,— i ,(a) th a t im putation, directly or indirectly in the estim ation of others, lowers the m oral or intellectual character of th at person, in respect of his caste or his calling or low ers the credit of th at person, or causes it to be believed th at the body of th at person is in  a loath­some state, or in a state generally considered as disgraceful; or(b) th at im putation exposes, directly or indirectly, such person to hatred, contem pt or ridicule or disparages or causes injury to such person in his trade, business, profession, calling or office 304 n othing in section 3 shall apply to— 1(i) the im putation of anything w hich is tru e concerning any person, if it be for the public good th at the im putation should be m ade or published and it is a question of fact as to w hether it is for the public good; ' ^35(ii) the expression in good faith of any opinion w hatever res­pecting the conduct of a public servant in the discharge of his public functions, or respecting his character, so far as his character appears in th at conduct, and no further; 1 i(hi) the expression in good faith of any opinion w hatever respecting the conduct of any person touching any public question, and respecting his character, so fa r as his character appears in th at conduct, and no further; 1 'i (iu) the publication of a substantially true report of the pro-» ceedings of a coui't or tribunal or of the result of any such pro^ceedings;(u) the expression in good faith of any opinion w hatever res- 5 pecting the m erit of any case, civil or crim inal, which has been decided by a court, or respecting the conduct of any person as a party, w itness or agent in any such case, or respecting the character of such person, so far as his character appears in that conduct, and no further; i10 ' the expression in good faith or any opinion respecting them erits of any perform ance w hich its author has subm itted to the judgm ent of the public, or respecting the character of the author so far as his character appears in such perform ance, and no further;15(vii) the passing in good faith any censure on the conduct of a person by a person having authority over th at other person either conferred by law  or arising out of a lawful contract m ade w ith th at other in m atters to which such law ful authority relates;(viii) the preferring in good faith an accusation against any person to any of those who have law ful authority over th at person20 w ith respect to the subject-m atter of the accusation;(ix) the im putation on the character of another provided that the im putation is m ade in good faith for the protection of the interest of the person m aking it, or of any other person, or for the public good;25 (a:) the conveying of a caution, in good faith, to one personagainst another, provided th at such caution is intended for the good of the person to whom it is conveyed, or of some person in whom th at person is interested, or for the public goodpunishmentfordefamations (7) w hoever defam es another, shall, in the case of the first30 offence, be punishable w ith im prisonm ent for a term  which m ay extend to two years, or w ith fine! w hich m ay extend to two thousand rupees, or w ith both, and, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, w ith imprisoninfint w hich m ay extend to flve years, or with fine which m ay extend to five thousand rupees, or with both35 (2) w here the offence has been com m itted by publishing an im pu­tation in a newspaper, the court convicting the offender m ay further ocder th at its judgm ent shall be published, in whole or in part, in such new spaper and in such m anner at it m ay specify(5) the cost of such publication shall be recoverable from  the con-40 victed person as if it w ere a fine■explanation—^the court may, before passing a sentence under this section, take into consideration the question w hether the guilt of the accused is aggravated by the plea and the n ature of the evidence adduced to prove or disprove itprinting or engraving matter known to bedefamatory45 6 w hoever prints or engraves any m atter, know ing or having goodreason to believe th a t such m atter is defam atory of any person, shall, in the case of the first offence, be punishable w ith im prisonm ent for a term  w hich m ay extend to two years, or w ith fine w hich may extend to two thousand rupees, or w ith both; and, in the case of a second or sub-50 quent offence, w ith im prisonm ent which m ay extend to five years, or w ith fine w hich m ay extend to five thousand rupees, or w ith both7 w hoever sells or offers for sale any printed or engraved sub- ^ stance containing defam atory m atter, know ing th a t it containa such m atter, shall be punishable w ith im prisonm ent for a term  w hich m ay extend to two, years, or w ith fine w hich m ay extend to tw o thousand rupees, or w ith both 5sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matterprinting, etc, of grossly in­decent or scurrilous matter or m atter in­tended for blackmail8 w here any m atter w hich is grossly indecent or scurrilous or is in­tended for blackm ail is published in any new spaper, periodical or circu­lar, the author of such m atter and the printer, publisher and editor of such new spaper, periodical or circular shall, in the case of first offence, be punishable w ith im prisonm ent for a term  w hich m ay extend to two 10 years, or w ith fine which m ay extend to two thousand rupees, or w ith both, and in the case of a second or subsequent offence, w ith im prison­m ent for a term  whicli m ay extend to five years or w ith fine w hich m ay extend to five thousand rupees, or w ith bothexplanation i—it shall not be scurrilous,— 15(a) to m ake any im putation concerning any person w hich is true, if it is for the public good th at such im putation should be m ade or published and it is a question of fact as to w hether it is for public good; and(b) to express in good faith any opinion respecting the conduct 20of,—(i) a public servant in the discharge of his public functions or respecting his character so far as his character appears in th a t conduct and no further, or(ii) any person touching any public question, and respec--25 ting his character, so far as his character appears in th at conduct and no furtherexplanation ij—in deciding w hether any person has com m itted an offence under this section, the court shall have regard, inter alia, to th e following considerations, nam ely:— 30(a) the general character of the person charged, and w here rele­vant, the n ature of his business;(b) the general character and dom inant effect of the m atter alle­ged to be grossly indecent or scurrilous or intended for blackm ail;(c) any evidence offered or called by or on behalf of th e accused 35 person as to his intention in w riting, printing or publishing such m atteruninten­tional defamation9 (1) a person who has published any m atter alleged to be defam a­tory of another person m ay, if he claims th at the m atter was published by him  innocently in relation to th a t other person, m ake an offer of am ends under this section40(2) an offer of amends shall—(a) be in  w riting; i(b) be expressed to be made for the purposes of this section;(c) affirm th at the person who has published the m atter in question (hereafter in this section referred to as "the publisher") publi­shed the m atter innocently in relation to the party aggrieved;(d) include an offer to publish, or join in the publication of, a suitable correction of the m atter complained of and a sufficient apologyexplanation—w here the m atter alleged to be defam atory is published ^ in a new spaper, periodical for circular, the correction and apology made in pursuance of the offer of amends shall be published in the same m anner and w ith the same prom inence as the m atter alleged to be defam atory was published(3) if an offer of amends is accepted by the party aggrieved and is duly jq perform ed, no proceedings for defam ation shall be taken or continued by th a t party against the publisher in respect of the publication in question, but w ithout prejudice to any proceeding against any other person jointly responsible for th at publication(4) if an offer of amends is not accepted by the party aggrieved, it 15 shall be a defence, for the publisher, in any proceedings for defam ation against him  in respect of the publication in question to allege and prove—(a) the facts and circum stances which establish that the m atter was published innocently in relation to the party aggrieved;(b) th at the offer m ade fulfilled the requirem ents of clauses (a),20 (b) and (d) of sub-section (2) of this section; and(c) th at the offer has not been w ithdraw n(5) for the purposes of this section, any m atter shall be treated as published by the publisher innocently in relation to the party aggrieved if, and only if, the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say—25(a) that the publisher did not intend to publish it concern­ing th at party and did not know of the circumstances by virtue of which it m ight be understood to refer to him ; or(b) th at the m atter was not defam atory on the face of it, and the publisher did not know of the circum stances by virtue of which it3q m ight be understood to be defam atory of th at party aggrieved, and, in either case, that the publisher exercised" all reasonable care in relation to the publicationfair oomment10 in an action for defam ation in respect of any m atter consisting partly of allegations of fact and partly of expression of opinion, a defence of fair comment shall not fail by reason only that the tru th  of every alle- 35 gation of fact is not proved if, having regard to such of the facts alleged or referred to in the m atter complained of as are proved, the expression of opinion is fair comment11 n otw ithstanding anything contained in this act, the publication of any of the following statem ents shall not constitue defam ation name-certain statements not to constitute defamation(a) a fair and accurate report of any proceedings in public of—(i) a legislature of any foreign country;(ii) an international organisation of w hich india is a m em ­ber, or of organisations recognised by th e u nited n ations, or of any international conference to w hich the g overnm ent of india sends a representative;(hi) an international court; ^(iv) a court of any foreign country;(v) a fair and accurate report of or extract 'from  any registry kept in pursuance of any c entral, provincial o r s ta te act, w hich is open to inspection by the public, or of any other docum ent w hich is required by law  for th e tim e being in  force 10 in any p art of india to be open to inspection by the public; or(b) a notice or advertisem tot published by or under th e authority of any court, tribunal or commission of inquiry or a com­m ittee of investigation constituted by any law ful authority in india;(c) a fair and accurate report of th e findings or decisions 15 of any of the follow ing associations or of any com m ittee or govern­ing body thereof in  relation to a person who is a m em ber of or is subject by virtue of any contract to, the control of, any such associa­tion or, of any com m ittee or governing body thereof, th at is to say—20(i) an association form ed in india for th e purpose of pro­m oting or encouraging the exercise of or in terest in any art, science, religion or learning, and em pow ered by its constitution to exercise control over or adjudicate upon, m atters of interest or concern to the association, or the actions or conduct of any person subject to such control or adjudication; js(ii) as association form ed in india for the purpose of pro­m oting or safeguarding th e interests of any gam e, sport or pastim e to the playing or exercise of w hich m em bers of the public are invited or adm itted, an d  em pow ered by its constitu­ tion to exercise control over or taking p art in th e game, sport jo  or pastim e i(d) a fair and accurate report of the proce«iings of any mcvting or sitting of— , i(i) any local authority or com m ittee of a local authority; (ii) any commission, tribunal, com m ittee or person -ap- 35 pointed for the purposes of any inquiry imdetr a central, provincial or state act by the apt>roprlate govemmient;(iii) any person appointed by a local authority to hold a local inquiry in pursuance of any c entral, provincial or jwate act;40(iv) any other tribunal, board, com m ittee or body cotistituted by or under and exercising functions under a c entral, provincial or state act, not being a m eeting or sitting admission to whlfch is denied to representatives of new spapers and other m em bers of the public; ^(e) a  fair and accurate record of the proceedings at a general m eeting of jiny com pany or association constituted, regis­tered or certified by or under a central, provincial or state a ct not being a private com pany w ithin the m eaning of the com ­panies act, 1956;(0  any notice or other m atter issued for the inform a- 1 of 1956tion of th e public by or on behalf of g overnm ent or a local authorityburden of praot10vi: for the rem oval of doubts, it is hereby declared th at w here a person accused of any offence under this c hapter claims th at the im­putation made or published by him  or th at the statem ent published by h m  is excepted under section 4, or, as the case m ay be, under section 11, the onus of' proving such claim shall be on him  and the prosecution shall have the right to lead evidence in rebuttal15chapter iii ch im in a l im pu ta tio noffence of criminal imputation20253013 (1) n otw ithstanding anything contained in: chapter ii of this act, whoever, by words, either spoken or intended to be read or by sign or by visible representations, m akes or publishes any im putation falsely alleging th^t any person has com m itted an offence^ or has done or om itted to do any act w hich am ounts to an offence, under any law  for the tim e being in force, shall, in the case of the first offence, be punishable w ith imjh-isonment' for a term  w hich shall not be less than one m onth, but which m ay extend to one year and w ith fine which m ay extend to two th o u sw d  rupees, and in the case of a second or subsequent offence, with inaprisqnment for a term  w hich shall not be less than three months, but which m ay extend to two years and w ith fine which m ay extend to five thousand rupees,r'-n pt^ithptanding' anything contained in the code; w here any ogimiic ui^er'subrs m tien (4) is a lid a d  to h»>e been committed against any person, a c ourt of session m ay take cognizance of such offence, w ithout the, case being com m itted to it, upon a com plaint in w ritin g made by such person(3) every com plaint referred to in sub-seetion (2) shall be supported 35 by an affidavit w hich shall set /o rth  the facts which constitute the offence alleged, the nature of such offence and such other particulars as are reasonably sufficient to sive notice to the accused of the offence alleged to have been committed by him(4) w here a c ourt of session takes cognizance of an offence under 40 this section, it shall cause n notice to be sent to tb^ accused along with a copy of the affidavit referred to in sub-section (3), calling upon him  to appear before it on a date and tim e to be specified in  th e notice (not being a date later than four w ee k s from th e dat^ of said notice) alpng w ith the necessary docwm'ents, m aterials or other 'evidence on which he relies for his defence,14 (1) n otw ithstanding anything contained in the code, an  offence under section is shall be triable only by a sessions courttrial of offence under this chapter(2) a c ourt of session taking cognizance of an offence under section13, shall try  the case in accordance w ith the procedure for the trial of a sum m ons case specified in th e code and, if the c ourt thinks fit, 5 the case m ay be tried in a sum m ary w ay and the provisions of sections 262 to 264 (both inclusive) of the code shall apply to such trial;provided th at in the case of any conviction in a sum m ary way, it shall be law ful for the c ourt to pass a sentence of im prisonm ent for a term  up to th e m axim um  provided in section 13 10(5) e very trial under this c hapter shall, as far as possible, be on a day to day basis and concluded w ithin a period of three m onths from  the date specified in the notice calling upon the accused to appear before the court under sub-section (4) of section 13excep­tions and burden of proof15 (i) n otw ithstanding anything contained in this act, a person 15 accused of any offence under this c hapter shall not be guilty of the offence if, and only if, it is established th at the im putation m ade or pub­lished by him  is tru e and if it be for the public good th at the im putation should be m ade or published and it is a question of fact as to w hether it is for the public good 20(2 ) the onus of establishing th at the im putation is true and it is for the public good u n d er sub-section (1) shall be on th e accvjsed and the prosecution shall have the right to lead evidence in rebuttleappeal16 (1) n otw ithstanding anything contained in the code, an appeal shall lie as a m atter of right from  any judgm ent of the court of session 25 to the high court, both on facts and on law(2) every appeal to the h igh court under sub-section (1) shall be -•referred w ithin a period of th irty  days from  the date of the judgm ent appealed fro m : - r , provided th a t th e h igh court m ay entertain an appeal after 30 th e expiry of the said period of th irty  days if it is satisfied th a t the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal 'vithin the period of th irty  days17 the h igh c ourt m ay, by notification in the official gazette, m ake such rules, if any as it m ay deem necessary for the purpose of filing an 35 appeal to it under this chapterpower ol high court to make rules chapter iv m iscellaneous18 (i) section 205 of the code shall, in its application to any proceed­ings in relation to an offence under this act, have effect subiect to the 4q modification th at in sub-section (1) of th at section, th e following proviso shall be inserted, nam ely:—"provided th at w here the accused, being the editor, publisher or p rin ter of a new spaper or periodical is prosecuted for an offence underapplica­tion of the code to offences under this act sub­ject to cer tain modi­ficationsthe defam ation act, 1988, the court shall not dispense w ith his per­sonal attendance if it is proved th at he has refused w ithin a reason­able tim e, to publish any reply of the person against whom any im putation relatable to such offence was made, in the same m anner 5 and w ith the same prom inence as the im putation was published in th at new spaper or periodical''(2) n otw ithstanding anything contained in the code, every offence under this act shall be non-cognizable, and bailable(5) w here the trial of any offence under this act is conducted 10 in camera, it shall not be law ful for any person to print or publish any m atter in relation to any such trial except w ith the previo-us permission of th e court, and w hoever prints or publishes such m atter w ithout such perm ission shall be punishable w ith im prisonm ent for a term  which m ay extend to two years or w ith fine or w ith both| sentence   |     ||------------|-----|| of impri­   |     || sonment    |     || for non­    |     || payment    |     || of fine   |     |15 19 in every case of an offence under this act punishable w ithim prisonm ent as well as fine, in which the offender is sentenced to a fine, w hether w ith or w ithout im prisonm ent, and in the case of every such offence punishable w ith im prisonm ent or fine, in which the offender is sentenced to a fine, the provisions of sections 64 to 70 45 of 1860 20 (both inclusive) of the indian penal code shall, as far as may be, apply| act to      |     ||-------------|-----|| have        |     || overrid­     |     || ing effect |     |20 the provisions of this act or any order made thereunder shall have effect notw ithstanding anything inconsistent therew ith contained in any other enactm ent or in any instrum ent having effect by \drtue of any other enactment45 of 1860 25 21 (i) c hapter x x i of th e indian p en al code shall be om ittedrepealandsaving10 of 1897 45 of 1860(2) the provisions of section 6 of the g eneral clauses act, 1897 shall apply to the omission of c hapter x x i of the indian penal code under sul>section (1) as if the said c hapter had been repealed by a c entral act3022 in the code,—amend­ment of the code(a) in section 199,—(i) in sub-sections (1) and (2), for the words and figures45 of i860 "c hapter x x i of the indian penal code", the words andfigures "the defamation act, 1988" shall be substituted;35(ii) in sub-section (6), for the w ord "m agistrate", at both the places w here it occurs, th e w ords "m agistrate, or, as the case m ay be, the court of session" shall be substituted;(b) in the f irst schedule, under heading "i—offences 45 of i860 under the indian penal code", the sub-heading "chapterxxi—^defa m a t io n" and the entries thereunder shall be omittedsections 499 to 502 of c hapter x x i of the indian p enal code deal w ith th e offence of defam ation and the punishm ent therefor in its 42nd r eport, the law  com mission had suggested certain am endm ents to these provisions accordingly, sim endm ents to these sections had been included in the indian penal code (a m endm ent) bill, 1978, which, after having been passed by the r ajya sabha, lapsed on the dissolution of the lok sabha in 1979 the second p ress commission also had, in its repoii; subm itted in 1984, recom m ended am endm ents to the law  of defam ation in certain respects like protecting unintentional defam ation, fair com­m ent and certain types of privileged statem ents these recom m enda­tions relate to procedural m atters f urther, it is proposed to m ake publication of im putations falsely alleging commission of offences by any person as an offence those who m ake such im putations often have no intention of pursuing the m atter any fu rth e r w ith the appropriate authorities t heir only intention appears to be to bring a person's re ­putation into question it is considered necessary to check this tendency so th at freedom  of speech, w hich is the very essence of democracy, does not degenerate into m ere licence in view of the above, it is considered advisable to have a self-contained law  on defam ation covering both sub­stantive and procedural aspects2 the bill accordingly seeks to achieve the above objects and m akes inter alia the follow ing provisions to deal w ith offences of defa­m ation m ore effectively, nam ely(a) incorporation of the existing provisions of c hapter x x i of the indian penal code w ith certain am endm ents thereto recom ­m ended by the law  commission of india;(b) punishm ent for publication in any new spaper or periodical of grossly indecent or scurrilous m atter or m atter intended for blackm ail, on the lines of th e proposed section 292a in the lapsed indian penal code (a m endm ent) bill, 1978;(c) provisions to give effect to certain recom m endations of the second press com mission for protecting unintentional defam ation, fair com m ent and certain types of privileged statem ents;(d) provision to punish im putations falsely alleging commission by any person of an offence under any law  for the tim e bein^ in force; and to provide for the trial of such offence by a court of sessionn e w  d e l h i; p, chidambaramthe 22nd august, 1988clause 16 of the bill seeks to em power the high court to fram e such rules, if any, as it m ay deem necessary for the purpose of enter­taining appeals filed to it against the judgm ents of sessions court in relation to the offence under chapter iii of the bill2, the delegation of power under this provision pertains to a m atter of detail and procedure and is of a norm al character(45 of 1860) ♦ ♦   chapter x x i o f  d e fa m a t io ne>efamation499 w hoever by w ords either spojcen or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, m akes or publishes any im putation concerning any person intending to harm , or know ing or having reason to believe th at such im putation w ill harm , the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defam e th at personexplanation 1—^it m ay am oim t to defam ation to im pute anything to a deceased person, if the im putation w ould harm  the reputation of th at person if living, and is intended to be h u rtfu l to th e feelings of his fam ily or other n ear relativesexplanation 2—it m ay am ount to defam ation to m ake an im putation concerning a com pany or an association or collection of persons as suchexplanation 3—a n im putation in the form  of an alternative or expressed ironically, m ay am ount to defam ationexplanation 4—^no im putation is said to harm  a person's reputation, vinless th at im putation directly or indirectly, in the estim ation of others, low ers th e m oral or intellectual character of th at person, or low ers the character of th a t person in  respect of his case or of his calling, or low ers the credit of th a t person, or causes it to be believed th at the body of th at person is in a lothsom e state, or in a state generally considered as disgraceful(a) a  says—"z is an honest m an; he never stole b's w atch" ; intend­ing to cause it to  be believed th a t jz did steal b 's watch this is defam ation, unless it fall w ithin one of the exceptions(b) a is asked w ho stole b's watch a  points to z, intending to cause it to be believed th at z stole b 's w atch this is defam ation, unless it fall w ithin one of the exceptions(c) a draw s a picture of z running aw ay w ith b's w atch, intending it to be believed th at z stole b's w atch this is defam ation, unless it fall w ithin one of the exceptionsfirst exception—^it is not defam ation to im pute anything w h id i is true concerning any person, if it be for the public good th at the im puta­tion should be m ade or published w hether or not it is for the public good is a question of factimputa­tion of truth which public iood re­ quires to be made •r pub­lishedsecoyid exception,— it is not defam ation to express in good faith any public opinion w hatever respecting the conduct of a public servant in the disconduct of charge of his public functions, or respecting his character^ so far as his character appears in th at conduct, and no furtherservantsth/ird exception—it is not defam ation to express in good faith any opinion w hatever respecting the conduct of any person touching any public question, and respecting his character, so far as his character appears in th a t conduct, and no further| conduct    |     ||------------|-----|| of any     |     || person     |     || touching   |     || any public |     || question  |     |it is not defam ation in a to express in good faith any opinion w hat­ever excepting z's conduct in petitioning grovemment on a public ques­tion, is signing a requisition for a m eeting on a public question, in presiding or attending at such meeting^ in form ing or joining any society w hich invites the public support, in voting or canvassing for a particular candidate for any situation in the eificient discharge of the duties of w hich the public is interestedfourth exception—it is not defam ation to publish a substantially true report of the proceedings of a court of justice, or of the result of any such proceedingspublica­tion of reports of proceed­ings of courtsexplanation—justice of the peace or other officer holding an enquiry in open c o u rt' prelim inary to a trial in a court of justice, is a court w ithin the m eaning of the above sectionfifth exception—^it is not defam ation to express in good faith any opinion w hatever respecting the m erits of any case, civil or criminal, w hich has been decided by a court of justice, or respecting the conduct of any person as a party, w itness or agent, in any such case, or respect­ing the character of such person, as far as his character appears in that conduct, and no further| merits of   |     ||-------------|-----|| case decid­  |     || ed in       |     || court or    |     || conduct of  |     || witnesses   |     || and others  |     || concerned  |     |(a) a says—"i think z's evidence on th at trial is so contradictory th at he m ust be stupid or dishonest" a is w ithin this exception if he says this in good faith, inasm uch as the opinion "w hich he expresses respects z's character as it appears in z's conduct as a witness, and no farther(b) b ut if a says—"i do not believe w hat z asserted at that trial because i know him  to be a m an w ithout veracity""; a is not within this exception, inasm uch as the opinion which expresses of z's character, is an opinion not founded on z's conduct as a witnessmerits of public per­formancesixth exception—it is not defam ation to express in good faith any opinion respecting the m erits of any perform ance which its author has subm itted to the judgm ent of the public, or respecting the character of the author so far as his character appears in such performance, and no farthereivplanation,—^a perform ance m ay be subm itted to the judgm ent the public expressly or by acts on the part of the author which impl^ such submission to the judgm ent of the public(a) a person who publishes a book, subm its th at book to the judg­m ent of the public(h) a person who makes a speech in public^ subm its that speech to the judgm ent of the public(c) an actor or singer who appears on a public stage, subm its his acting or singing to the judgm ent of the public(d) a says of a book published by z—"z's book is foolish, z m ust be a w eak man z's book is indecent, z m ust be a m an of im pure m ind" a is whhin the exception, if he says this in good faith, inasm uch as the opinion w hich he expresses of z respects z's character only so far as it appears in zs book, and no further(e) but if a says—"i am not surprised that z's book is foolish and indecent, for he is a w eak m an and a libertine" a is not w ithin this exception, inasm uch as the opinion which he expresses of z's character in an opinion not founded on z's booksev^^nth exception,—it is not defam ation in a person having over another any authority, either conferred by law  or arising out of a law ­ful contract m ade w ith th at other, to pass in good faith any censure on the conduct of that other in m atters to which such law ful authority passed in good faith by person having lawful authority over anothera judge censuring in good faith the conduct of a witness, or of an officer of the court; a head of a departm ent censuring in good faith those who are under his orders; a parent censuring in good faith a child in the presence of other children; a school-master, whose autho­rity is derived from a parent, censuring in good faith a pupil in the presence of other pupils; a m aster censuring a servant in good faith for remissness in service; a banker censuring in good faitk the cashier of his bank for the conduct of such cashier as such cashier— are w ithin•uot;daoxa sim accusation 'eighth exception—it is not defam ation to prefer in good faith an accusation against any person to any of those who have law ful au th cri'y  over that person w ith respect to the subject-m atter of accusationpreferred in good ^ t h  to authoriz­ed personif a in good faith accuses z before a m agistrate; if a in good faith complains of the conduct of z, a servant, to z's m aster; if a in good faith complains of the conduct of z, a child, to z's father—^^a is w ithin this exceptionn inth exception—is not defam ation to m ake an im putation on the character of another provided th at the im putation be made in good faith for the protection of the in terest of th e person m aking it, or of any other person, or for the public goodimputation made in good faith by person for protection of his or other's interests(a) a, a shopkeeper^ says to b, who manages his business—"sell nothing to z unless he pays you ready money, for i have no opinion of his honesty" a is w ithin the exception, if he has m ade this im putation on z in good faith for the protection of his own interests(b) a, a m agistrate, in m aking a report to his own superior officer, casts an im putation on the character of z here, if the im putation is m ade in good faith, and for the public good^ a is w ithin the exceptiontenth exception—it is not defam ation to convey a caution, in good faith, to one person against another, provided that such caution be intend­ed for the good of the person to whom it is conveyed, or of some person in whom that person is interested, or for the public good| caution   |     ||-----------|-----|| intended  |     || for good  |     || of person |     || to whom   |     || conveyed  |     || or for    |     || public    |     || good     |     |560 w hoever defames another shall be punished w ith simple im prisonm ent for a term  which m ay extend to two years, or w ith fine, or w ith bothpunish­ment for defama­ tion501 w hoever prints or engraves any m atter, knowing or having good reason to believe that such m atter is defam atory of any person^ shall be punished w ith simple im prisonm ent for a term  which may extend two years, or w ith fine, or w ith both| printing   |     ||------------|-----|| or engrav­  |     || ing        |     || matter     |     || known      |     || to be      |     || defama­     |     || tory      |     |stance containing defam atory m atter, knowing tha m atter, shall be punished w ith simple im prisonm ent m ay extend to two years, or w ith fine, or with bothengraved sub-sale ofcontains suchprinteda term  whichor engrav­«'ed subsi ancecontain­ing defa­matorymatter e xtracts f r o m  th e c ode of c r im in a l  p rocedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)199 (1) no court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under c hapter x x i of the indian p enal code except upon a com plaint 45 of 1860m ade by some person aggrieved by the offence:prosecution for defama­tionprovided th at w here such person is under the age of eighteen years, or is an idiot or a lunatic, or is from  sickness or infirm ity unable to m ake a com plaint, or is a wom an who, according to the local customs and m anners, ought not to be com pelled to appear in public, some other person may, w ith the leave of the court, m ake a com plaint on his or her behalf(2) n otw ithstanding anything contained in this code, w hen any oflence falling im der c hapter x x i of the indian penal code is alleged 45 of 1860to have been com m itted against a person who, at the tim e of such com­mission, is the president of india, the v ice-president of india, the g overnor of a state, the a dm inistrator of a union territory or a m inister of the union or of a state or of a union territory, or any other public servant em ployed in connection w ith the affairs of the union or of a state in respect of his conduct in the discharge of his public functions a court of session m ay take cognizance of such offence, w ithout the case being com m itted to it, upon a com plaint in w riting m ade by the public prosecutor(6) n othing in this section shall affect the right of the person against whom the oflence is alleged to have been com m itted, to m ake a com­plaint in respect of th at offence before a m agistrate having jurisdic­tion or the pow er of such m agistrate to take cognizance of the offence upon such com plaint the fir st schedule classification o f offencese xplanatory n o te: (1) in  regard to offences under the indian penal code, th e entries in the second and th ird  colimms against a sec­tion the nim iber of w hich is given in the first colum n are not intended as the definition of, and the punishm ent prescribed for, the offence in the indian penal code, but m erely as indication of the substance of the section(2) in this schedule, (i) the expression '^magistrate of the first c la ^ '' and "any m agistrate'^ include m etropolitan m agistrates but not executive m agistrates; (ii) the w ord "cognizable" stands for "a police ofiicer m ay arrest w ithout w arran t''; and (in) the w ord "non-cognizable" stands for "a police officer shall not arrest w ithout w arrant"| by what court                        |                               ||--------------------------------------|-------------------------------|| triable                              |                               || section                              |                               || offence                              |                               || punish-                              | cogniz-                       || ment                                 | able or                       || non-cogniz-                          | bailable                      || able                                 |                               || chapter xxi—                         |                               || d e f a m a t i o n                  |                               || bailable                             | court of session             || 500                                  | defamation against the presi- || dent or the vic3-president           | imprison- cogniz-             || or the governor of a state           | ment for                      || or administrator of a union 2 years, |                               || territory or a minister              | in                            || respect of his conduct in            | or both,                      || the discharge of his public          |                               || functions when                       | instituted                    || upon a complaint made by             |                               || the public prosecutor               |                               || difamition in any other case         | ditto                         || magistrate of                        |                               || first class                         |                               || the                                  |                               || ditto                                | ditto                         || 501                                  |                               || (a)                                  |                               || printing or engraving matter         |                               || knowing it to be defama­              |                               || tory against the president           |                               || or                                   |                               || the vice-president or                |                               || the governor of a state              | '                             || or                                   |                               || administrator                        | of a                          || union territory                      | or                            || minister in respect of his           |                               || conduct in the discharge             |                               || of his public                        | functions                     || when instituted upon a               |                               || complaint made by the                |                               || public prosecutor                   |                               || ditto                                |                               || ditto                                | ditto                         || first class                         |                               || (b)                                  |                               || printing or                          | engraving                     || matter knowing it to be              |                               || defamatory, in any other             |                               || case                                |                               || ditto                                | ditto                         || ditto                                |                               || 502                                  |                               || (a)                                  |                               || sale of printed or engra­             |                               || ved substance                        | contain­                       || ing defamatory                       | matter,                       ||                                      |                               || knowing it to contain such           |                               || matter agiinst the presi­             |                               || dent or the \ice-presi-              |                               || dent or the governor of              |                               || a state or administrator             |                               || of a union territory or a            |                               || minister in respect of his           |                               || conduct in the discharge             |                               || of his public functions              |                               || when instituted upon                 | a                             || complaint made by the                |                               || public prosecutor                   |                               || ditto                                |                               || ditto                                | ditto                         || first class                         |                               || (b)                                  |                               || sale of printed or engra­             |                               || ved substance containing             |                               || defamatory                           | matter,                       || knowing it to                        | contain                       || such matter in any other             |                               || case                                |                               | a billto  consolidate and am end the law  relating to defam ation and for m atters connected therew ith or incidental thereto(shri p chidambaram, minister of state in the ministry of home affairs)