THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.7835 of 2007 ORDER: The petitioner approaches this Court with a prayer to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.3555 of 2005 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Mancherial, Adilabad District, whereby he is facing charge for the offence punishable under Section 500 Cr.P.C. The brief facts are as follows: On 23.01.2003, the daily newspaper ‘EENADU’ published the news item, which runs as follows: “All the employees of the irrigation department came out and staged a demonstration wearing black- badges in protest against the dictatorial attitude of Md.Hameed Ali Khan, who is working as the senior assistant at the Mancherial Divisional office of the irrigation department. Employees of the irrigation department Mr.M.Vasantha Rao and Mr.D.Narahari alleged that Mr.Md.Hameed Ali Khan is an EC member of TNGS and he has been resorting to excesses by taking advantage of his position and there by instilling fear among all the employees.” Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the publication of any demonstration or participation of the members and the slogans raised by them in connection with the complainant attitude towards the subordinates not amounts to defamation. Further, the news item is published in public interest and also it is placed only as news item without attributing any defamatory contents in the said publication. The mere reading of the publication also does not indicate anything that this publisher has published after consulting the other persons belong to the said department conducting the demonstration and also it is stated in the news item why such demonstration was conducted by the persons concerned on the basis of the slogans raised by them. Learned counsel for the respondent-complainant submitted that the other accused persons on receipt of notice apologized for the same and the publication by the petitioner herein is with an intention to defame the complainant. The said contention of the learned counsel is not merit acceptance. It clearly indicates that the persons, who involved in the crime, also apologized for the same clearly shows that the agitation conducted in the manner it was published in the said newspaper. Mere publication of a news item, that too, informing the public regarding an agitation conducted by persons against some authority certainly not attract an offence under Section 500 IPC. Hence, this Court is of the view that the proceedings pending against the petitioner in C.C.No.3555 of 2005 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Mancherial, Adilabad District, against the petitioner amounts to abuse of process of law. Hence, the same are hereby quashed. Accordingly, the criminal petition is allowed. The miscellaneous petitions, if any, filed along with the criminal petition shall stand closed. ________________ RAJA ELANGO, J. 24th February 2011, Rns.