Defamation
Meaning of Defamation.
The act of communicating false statements about a person that injure the reputation of that person or the act of defaming another .
Definition of Defamation
Section 3(1) of Defamation Ordinance 2002 defines Defamation as under
Any wrongful act or publication or circulation of a false statement or representation made orally or in written or visual form which injuries the reputation of a person, tends to lower him in the estimation of others or tends to reduce him to ridicule, unjust criticism, dislike, contempt or hatred shall be actionable as defamation
Kinds of Defamation.
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- Salander: a false ‘oral’ statement or representation that amounts to defamation; and
- Liabel: a false ‘written’, ‘visual’ or ‘documentary’ statement or representation made either by ordinary form or expression or by electronic or other modern means of devices that amounts to defamation
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Trial of cases.—
According to Section 13 of Defamation Ordinance 2002 . The District Court shall have jurisdiction to try cases under this Ordinance.
Essentials to Establish Claim of Defamation.
- The allegations put forward against the Plaintiff must be false, baseless, and unfounded.
- The wording and the allegation(s) levelled in the statement should have been defamatory or derogatory in nature.
- The allegation(s) should have been published in a widely circulated newspaper or spoken in a large gathering of people.
- The claimed statement should have been made with the intent of malice and should not have any reasonable excuse and justification.
- The allegation should have been directly attributable to the plaintiff specifically mentioning his name.
Defences
According to Section 5 of the Defamation Ordinance 2002 following defenses are provided for the defendant in his defense
In defamation proceedings a person has a defence if he shows that―
- he was not the author, editor, publisher or printer of the statement complained of;
- the matter commented on is fair and in the public interest and is an expression of opinion and not an assertion of fact and was published in good faith;
- it is based on truth and was made for public good;
- assent was given for the publication by the plaintiff;
- offer to tender a proper apology and publish the same was made by the defendant but was refused by the
- an offer to print or publish a contradiction or denial in the same manner and with the same prominence was made but was refused by the plaintiff;
- the matter complained of was privileged communication such as between lawyer and client or between persons having fiduciary relations;
- the matter is covered by absolute or qualified
Exception.
Section 6 and 7 of the Defamation Ordinance 2002 provides the following privileges , or Exceptions
- Absolute privilege.— Any publication of statement made in the Federal or Provincial legislatures, reports, papers, notes and proceedings ordered to be published by either House of the Parliament or by the Provincial Assemblies, or relating to judicial proceedings ordered to be published by the court or any report, note or matter written or published by or under the authority of a Government, shall have the protection of absolute privilege.
Explanation.— In this section legislature includes a local legislature and court includes any tribunal or body exercising the judicial power
- Qualified privilege.— Any fair and accurate publication of parliamentary proceedings, or judicial proceedings which the public may attend and statements made to the proper authorities in order to procure the redress of public grievances shall have the protection of qualified privileges.
Remedies to Plaintiff
Section 09 of The Defamation Ordinance 2002 provides the following remedies to Plaintiff
- Direction by the Court to the defendant to tender an apology, only if acceptable to the plaintiff and publish it in the same manner as the defamatory statement was published.
- Direction by the Court to the defendant to pay reasonable compensatory damages
- If the plaintiff proves any other special damage incurred and satisfies the court, the court may direct the defendant to pay such damages.
Legal Notice
14 days Legal Notice is Mandatory for initiating proceeding against the defendant or culprit
- After the notice has been served a claim for defamation under the Ordinance has to be filed within six months from the publication of the defamatory matter coming into the notice or knowledge of the person defamed
Code of Civil Procedure and Qanun-e-Shahadat Order to apply.— The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act No.V of 1908) and the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984 (P.O. No 10 of 1984) shall mutatis mutandis, apply to the proceedings under this Ordinance
Appeal
An appeal against the decree or judgment of the court lies to the high court.
Criminal Proceeding
Defamation Ordinance 2002 expressly provides that nothing in the Ordinance shall prejudice any action for criminal libel or slander under any other law.
- In order to initiate criminal proceedings, the complainant will file a complaint before the local police station. The concerned police station should register the first information report and investigate the matter. After the investigation report is prepared by the police along with other procedural requirements, the matter will move to trial before the Sessions Court. All matters in the Sessions Court are heard before a judge and there are no jury trials.
Section 499 of Pakistan Penal Code
| 499. | Defamation:
“Whoever by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said except in the cases hereinafter excepted, to defame that person.”
Explanation 1: It may amount to defamation to impute anything to a deceased person, if the imputator would harm the reputation of that person if living, and is intended to be hurtful to the feelings of his family or other near relatives.
Explanation 2: It may amount to defamation to make an imputation concerning a company or an association or collection of persons as such.
Explanation 3: An imputation in the form of an alternative or expressed ironically, may amount to defamation. Explanation 4: No imputation is said to harm a person’s reputation, unless that imputation directly or indirectly, in the estimation of others, lowers the moral or intellectual character of that person, or lowers the character of that person in respect of his caste or of his calling or lowers the credit of that person, or causes it to be believed that the body of that person is in a loathsome state, or in a state generally considered a disgraceful.
Illustrations
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In order to establish its claim during the trial, the complainant will have to prove that the offence as set out in Section 499 of the PPC has been committed and the harm has been caused to the complainant along with sufficient evidence (preferable documentary evidence
Exceptions under Section 499
Section 499 of the PPC further provides the following exceptions/defences to defamation:
- It is not defamation to impute anything which is true concerning any person if it is for the public good that the imputation should be made or published. Whether or not it is for the public good is a question of fact.
- It is not defamation to express in good faith any opinion whatever 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 that conduct, and no further.
- It is not defamation to express in good faith any opinion whatever respecting the conduct of any person touching any public question, and. respecting his character, so far as his character appears in that conduct, and no further.
- It is not defamation to publish a substantially true report of the proceedings of a Court of Justice, or of the result of any such proceedings.
- It is not defamation to express in good faith any opinion whatever in respect of the merits of any case, civil or criminal, which has been decided by a Court of Justice, or in respect of the conduct of any person as a party, witness or agent, in any such case, or in respect of the character of such person, as far as his character appears in that conduct, and not further.
- It is not defamation to express in good faith any opinion in respect of the merits of any performance which its author has submitted to the judgment of the public or in respect of the character of the author so far as his character appears in such performance, and no further.
- It is not defamation if a person having over another any authority, either conferred by law or arising out of a lawful contract made with that other, passes in good faith any censure on the conduct of that other in matters to which such lawful authority relates.
- It is not defamation to refer in good faith an accusation against any person to any of those who have lawful authority over that person with respect to the subject matter of accusation.
- It is not defamation to make an imputation on the character of another provided that the imputation be made in good faith for the protection of the interest of the person making it, or of any other person, or for the public good.
- It is not defamation 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.
Punishment for the Offense.
Section 500 of PPC sets out the punishment for the offence of defamation, which is imprisonment extending up to two years and/or a fine.
Other Relevant Sections of Paksitan Penal Code.
| 501. | Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory: Whoever prints or engraves any matter, knowing or having good reason to relieve that such matter is defamatory of any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. |
| 502. | Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter: Whoever sells or offers for sale any printed or engraved substance containing defamatory matter knowing that it contains such matter, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both. |
Other Relevant Law.
Prevention of Electronic Crimes ACT 2016
