The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued summons to BJP national spokesperson Sanju Verma in a defamation suit filed by former Indian Police Service officer Yashovardhan Azad over her derogatory social media post, allegedly calling him a ‘blot on the uniform’.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Amit Bansal directed Advocate Raghav Awasthi, appearing for the BJP leader, to persuade her to remove the comment. It further issued notice on Azad’s application seeking interim injunction against the allegedly defamatory posts and listed the matter for further hearing on January 27.
The High Court observed that criticism of opinions expressed by a retired public servant in public discourse was permissible within the contours of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2). However, the attribution of stigma to an individual’s official career, particularly one governed by statutory service rules and constitutional safeguards, was legally untenable in the absence of substantiating material, it observed.
The single-judge Bench further said that while robust debate and criticism of viewpoints were intrinsic to democratic discourse, the standard of care applicable to statements concerning public officials, even post-retirement, remained exacting. Imputations affecting the honour and dignity of a former civil servant could not be justified as fair comment, especially when such remarks traversed beyond critique of views into allegations impugning conduct while in office, it added.
Justice Bansal held that aspersions cast upon the plaintiff’s career in uniform were capable of attracting liability under the law of defamation, as articulated in precedents such as Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India (2016) and Khushboo v. Kanniammal (2010), which delineated the boundary between protected speech and defamatory expression.
Appearing for the former IPS officer, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh contended that Azad had earlier served as Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau and subsequently as a Central Information Commissioner under the Right to Information Act, 2005. He pointed out that the remarks had the effect of lowering his reputation in the estimation of right-thinking members of society. The statements amounted to libel per se, causing irreparable harm to his standing built over decades of public service.
The Senior Counsel further submitted that the controversy had originated during a televised debate concerning a criminal incident in Kolkata, where Azad had participated in the capacity of a subject-matter expert rather than as a political actor.
The Counsel appearing for Verma contended that the suit was not maintainable and that the plaintiff had failed to exhaust alternative remedies under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. He further argued that the impugned remarks were contextual, responsive to comments made during the debate, and formed part of a larger exchange in the public domain.
After hearing arguments from both parties, the High Court held that the continuation of the specific remark casting stigma on the plaintiff’s service record was undesirable and avoidable. Litigation of this nature ought not to escalate when corrective measures could be voluntarily adopted, particularly where the impugned statement related to the integrity of a public office held in the past.
The single-judge Bench noted that the observations made at this stage were prima facie in nature and confined to the consideration of interim relief. It indicated that no final opinion had been expressed on the merits of the rival contentions, including the questions of maintainability, applicability of statutory remedies under the Information Technology framework, or the defences available under the law of defamation. The suit raised issues concerning the balance between freedom of speech and protection of reputation, both recognised as facets of constitutional and civil law, and that these questions would be examined in greater detail upon completion of pleadings. Objections raised on maintainability and other defences would be considered at the appropriate stage, it added.
The post Delhi High Court issues summons to BJP spokesperson Sanju Verma on defamation suit by ex-IPS officer Yashovardhan Azad appeared first on India Legal.