THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE N.R.L. NAGESWARA RAO CRIMINAL PETITION No.1298 OF 2009 ORDER: The petition is filed to quash the orders in Criminal Revision Petition No.198 of 2008 on the file of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Hyderabad, confirming the order of the III Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate at Hyderabad in S.R. No.16214 of 2008. 2. The petitioner has filed a complaint for the offences under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, 'IPC'), before the learned Magistrate contending that in a writ petition pending between the parties an allegation was said to have been made in the affidavit of the accused to the effect that the complainant was not the legally wedded wife; that she was already married; that she has got son and the so-called marriage claimed by her is not valid. 3. In fact, the above counter was filed by the writ petitioner concerning the rights with regard to management of certain properties, where the complainant is said to have interfered. In order to understand the purport of any allegation made in a counter or petition, the entire contents have to be taken into consideration and the reference of such allegations has to be taken into consideration with reference to the relevancy of the facts alleged and disputed by the parties. A few sentences cannot be extracted from the affidavit and they cannot be read in separation in order to say that the allegations are false or motivate to disrepute a person. As can be seen from the proceedings of the writ petition, the petition was filed for relief when there was said to be interference by the petitioner claiming rights in the property as a legal heir after marriage. The parties to the proceeding are only disputing about the facts. In course of such dispute of denial of the allegations and the claim made by the petitioner, the counter affidavit was filed in the writ petition stating that the marriage is not valid and that the alleged claim of the complainant that she has adored the qualities of her second husband is not true from a fair and reasonable reading of the above contents in the affidavit. It does not convey anything defamatory or imputing the defamation to a reasonable man, who understand the issue between the parties. In order to consider the offence under defamation, it has to be considered with reference to the opinion of the person, who notices such a statement or when such statement has been circulated or published. When parties to the litigation asserts a fact and denied by the other side, it does not mean that the third party will have an impression or opinion that such statements are defamatory when particularly the proceedings are pending in a Court of law. 4. Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the opinion of the learned Magistrate that the statement does not appear to be defamatory cannot be said to be based on no appreciation of the facts and the orders passed by the Courts below does not call for any interference. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is dismissed. _______________________________ JUSTICE N.R.L. NAGESWARA RAO Date:22-12-2011 INL