New Delhi: The Law Commission has recommended that criminal defamation should be retained within the scheme of criminal laws in India.
In its report on the law on criminal defamation, the panel asserted that it is important to keep in mind that the right to reputation flows from Article 21 of the Constitution, and being a facet of right to life and personal liberty, it needs to be “adequately protected” against defamatory speech and imputations.
“Reputation is something which can’t be seen and can only be earned. It’s an asset which is built in a lifetime and destroyed in seconds. The whole jurisprudence around the law on criminal defamation has the essence of protecting one’s reputation and its facets,” it said.
he laws of criminal defamation have been codified under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and to fall within the confines of this Section, a person must have made an imputation about another person with either an intention, knowledge, or reason to believe that such an imputation will harm the reputation of the person against whom such an imputation is made. This imputation could be either by words, signs or visible representations and they could either be made or published[3]. The difference between making of an imputation and publication of an imputation is that, while in the former, the communication of the imputation is only to the person concerned, whereas in the latter, the communication of the imputation is to a third party. The laws of criminal defamation are subject to ten exceptions, the first one being truth which the public good requires to be made or published. (Agencies)

KR Desk