‘The time has come to decriminalise defamation law’, mulls Justice Sundresh while hearing The Wire’s plea
Justice Sundresh questioned whether defamation involving private individuals can legitimately be classified as a crime when it serves no broader public purpose. In 2016, the Court had upheld the constitutionality of the criminal defamation law.
Parmod Kumar
23 September 2025
MORE THAN NINE YEARS after it had upheld the constitutional validity of criminal defamation law – then Sections 499 and 500 of the repealed Indian Penal Code and Section 199 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – the Supreme Court on Monday remarked that time has come to decriminalise defamation law, now contained in Section 356 of the prevailing Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The remark, from Justice M.M. Sundresh heading a bench also comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, came in the course of the hearing of a plea by the news portal The Wire challenging the issuance of summons by a magistrate court on a complaint by Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor Amita Singh, aggrieved by an article carried by the portal.
“The remark underscores the Supreme Court’s concern over the frequent invocation of criminal defamation and brings back into focus the issue of whether defamation involving private individuals can legitimately be classified as a crime when it serves no broader public purpose,” Justice Sundresh observed.
As Justice Sundresh remarked, “I think time has come to decriminalise all this.” Senior advocate Kapil Sibal agreed with the suggestion. Sibal was representing the petitioner, the Foundation for Independent Journalism, which runs The Wire.
The genesis of the matter is a 2016 article carried by the news portal which said that Prof. Amita Singh was at the helm of a group of JNU teachers who had compiled a 200-page dossier allegedly terming JNU a “den of organised sex racket.”
The genesis of the matter is a 2016 article carried by the news portal which said that Prof. Amita Singh was at the helm of a group of JNU teachers who had compiled a 200-page dossier allegedly terming JNU a “den of organised sex racket.”
As per the report, the dossier was titled Jawaharlal Nehru University: The Den of Secessionism and Terrorism. The article stated that the dossier was submitted to the JNU administration, where some teachers were accused of encouraging a decadent culture in the university by legitimising separatist movements in India.
Thereafter, Prof. Singh filed a criminal defamation case against The Wire and its reporter. In February 2017, a magistrate court issued summons to the portal. However, in 2024, the Supreme Court set aside the summons, asking the magistrate to take a fresh call on issuance after examining the article.
In January this year, the magistrate again issued summons to the portal and its political affairs editor Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta. The Delhi High Court upheld the same on May 7, leading to the present challenge before the apex court.
During the hearing, the Court questioned the long pendency of the case. “How long will you go on dragging this?” the Bench asked. To this, Sibal said, “Similar matter is being considered. Rahul Gandhi’s case.” Following this, the Court issued notice in the matter.
The remark by the bench that the time has come to decriminalise defamation assumes significance as on May 13, 2016, the Supreme Court, while upholding the constitutional validity of the criminal defamation law, had said that it does not have any “chilling effect on freedom of speech.”