India, March 17 -- In a significant reaffirmation of press freedom and the limits of criminal defamation law, a Delhi court has dismissed a complaint filed against a news report published in The Sentinel, ruling that the article did not disclose any prima facie offence under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.

The order came in Ct. Case No. 2241/2022 - Suhas Chakma vs. Drishya Muni Chakma & Others, where the complainant had alleged that the report was published as part of a conspiracy to malign his reputation.

Delivering the order at the stage of summoning, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC-11) Harjot Singh Aujla of the South West Dwarka Court held that the very foundation of the complaint was untenable. The court observed that th...