Sharing or forwarding of defamatory material without any verification and without asking the authorities prior in time to investigate the authenticity of the same amounts to defamation : Delhi High Court

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI W.P.(C) 9297 2021& CM APPL. 28911 2021 SH AMRENDRA KUMAR Through Ms. Ankita Patnaik Advocate UNION OF INDIA AND ORS Through Ms. Monika Arora CGSC with Mr. Shriram Tiwary Advocate Mr. Sanjeev Uniyal withMr. Dhawal Uniyal and Mr. Abhishek Khanna Date of Decision: 01st September 2021 HON BLE MR. JUSTICE MANMOHAN HON BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA JUDGMENT MANMOHAN J:CRPF Jagdalpur only with the intent of informing the authorities and not with the intent of defaming AC Nand Lal Meena. She states that the Petitioner did not know AC Nand Lal Meena at all thus there was no motive for the Petitioner to defame him. She states that a perusal of the conversation between the Petitioner and the DIG Operations) CRPF Jagdalpur will clearly show that it was in fact DIG Operations) CRPF Jagdalpur who had asked the Petitioner to further investigate the issue and find out as to where the photograph was clicked and on what date. She submits that the punishment of compulsory retirement is clearly disproportionate to the facts and circumstances of the present case Having perused the paper book this Court finds that the petitioner had shared the same WhatsApp message with about two hundred CRPF staff members on a group chat of which he was the Administrator wherein it was stated that the “B 80 company commander Ac shree Nandlal meena call girl k sath hotel ka photoCRPF Jagdalpur. Consequently the petitioner’s primary contention that he had shared the message with the superior authorities with the intent of informing them rather than with the intent of defaming AC Nandlal Meena is contrary to facts In fact this Court is of the view that the petitioner with intent of lowering the name image and reputation of AC Nandlal Meena without any verification and without asking the authorities prior in time to investigate the authenticity of the same had circulated the WhatsApp message to about two hundred CRPF staff members being bereft of merit is dismissed Accordingly the present writ petition along with pending application The order be uploaded on the website forthwith. Copy of the order be also forwarded to the learned counsel through e mail MANMOHAN J NAVIN CHAWLA J SEPTEMBER 1 2021 Page 

Summary: Any material that could be potentially defamatory, cannot be shared or forwarded carelessly especially in this modern day and age of internet. This was held in the judgment passed by a two-bench judge comprising JUSTICES HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MANMOHAN and HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA, in the matter SH AMRENDRA KUMAR V. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS, dealt with an issue where the petitioner filed a petition against the respondent challenging the several orders, the enquiry officer’s report, brief submitted by the Presiding Officer and charge sheet dated 10th October, 2017. Petitioner also seeks a direction to the Respondents to reinstate the Petitioner with all consequential benefits. Counsel for the Petitioner states that the Petitioner a Constable/GD with the CRPF has been compulsorily retired from service with only 67% compensation for both pension and gratuity. She states that the Petitioner shared the alleged defamatory WhatsApp images and message with his DIG (Operations) CRPF, Jagdalpur only with the intent of informing the authorities and not with the intent of defaming AC Nand Lal Meena. She states that the Petitioner did not know AC Nand Lal Meena at all, thus, there was no motive for the Petitioner to defame him.  She states that a perusal of the conversation between the Petitioner and the DIG (Operations) CRPF, Jagdalpur will clearly show that it was in fact DIG (Operations) CRPF, Jagdalpur who had asked the Petitioner to further investigate the issue and find out as to where the photograph was clicked and on what date. She submits that the punishment of compulsory retirement is clearly disproportionate to the facts and circumstances of the present case. Though the photographs in question could not be uploaded as the signal available was not of adequate strength, yet it was only after the said message had been forwarded to two hundred staff members of the CRPF that it was shared by the petitioner with the DIG (Operations) CRPF, Jagdalpur. Consequently, the petitioner’s primary contention that he had shared the message with the superior authorities with the intent of informing them rather than with the intent of defaming AC Nandlal Meena is contrary to facts. After hearing both the parties The hon’ble Delhi High court dismissed the petition and held that this Court is of the view that the petitioner with intent of lowering the name, image and reputation of AC Nandlal Meena, without any verification and without asking the authorities prior in time to investigate the authenticity of the same, had circulated the WhatsApp message to about two hundred CRPF staff members. Click here to view judgement