Bengaluru (Karnataka): The Karnataka High Court has said that it is possible to file a defamation case against a political party. The High Court has refused to quash the defamation case filed against BJP by Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad from Shivajinagar and said that there is an opportunity to file a defamation case against the political party.
The BJP state unit and its previous president had filed an application seeking cancellation of the defamation case filed by Rizwan Arshad against the BJP in 2019. A single member bench headed by Justice Krishna S Dixit, who heard this petition, dismissed it and ordered this. Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC provide that a consortium of persons such as the petitioner can be made a party to such criminal proceedings.
In a functioning democracy like ours, political parties and elected representatives need adequate protection. Therefore, as the crime of defamation is not so severe, but it cannot be taken lightly, the bench observed.
The bench, which disposed of the petition, clarified that the views expressed by the court in this regard will not have any effect on the same defamation case pending before the special court.
"Party cannot be considered as a person as per section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code," argued BJP's lawyer during the hearing.
The lawyer for Rizwan, who objected to this, said, "As a person is defined in Section 11 of the IPC, the party is also an organisation consisting of many individuals. It may or may not be registered. Yet all individuals, including governments, companies and trade unions, have their own respect. In this case defamation has been filed on the ground that the dignity of the original complainant has been affected. It is right that the special court is taking action against it," he told the bench.
In 2019, BJP posted a derogatory post on its social media saying that Rizwan Arshad, who was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, was involved in many election irregularities.
Rizwan Arshad, who took this seriously, filed a police complaint against BJP and a person Balaji Ashwin saying that his personality was being threatened by BJP posts. Based on that, the Special Court of People's Representatives took cognisance and issued summons to the BJP and its state president. The BJP questioned it and filed an application in the Karnataka High Court.
