Big Win For Freedom Of Press, Delhi High Court Quashes Defamation Case Against Arnab

New Delhi: In a significant victory for Republic Media Network and its Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, the Delhi High Court has quashed summons issued against him in a criminal defamation case filed against him.

The lawyer, Vikram Singh Chauhan, had accused Arnab of passing defamatory remarks against him during his show “The NewsHour” on Times Now channel in 2016.

The broadcast pertained to the incident alleging assault of former JNU student Kanhaiya Kumar and some journalists by Chauhan on the Patiala House Courts premises, in the wake of the incident wherein anti-India slogans were allegedly raised in the college.

“Complaint quashed. Summoning order set aside,” said Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, while dismissing the criminal complaint and the summons issued against Arnab and others, including Shrijeet Ramakant Mishra and Samir Jain, former employees of Times Now.

The petitions were filed in 2018 and 2019. On February 28, 2018, Arnab had challenged the trial court's order, summoning him as an accused in the defamation complaint and the matter was reserved for judgment on April 21.

On February 9, 2019, a coordinate Bench exempted Arnab from personally appearing before the trial court in the case. The same relief was granted to Mishra and Jain as well. These interim orders were extended from time to time.

In his complaint, Chauhan claimed that during a TV programme aired on February 19, 2016, Arnab made false and insulting statements about him. He further alleged that these remarks were made with the intention to damage his reputation and take revenge on him, aiming to ruin his career.

In the order that was challenged, the trial court had observed that the statements made against Chauhan were, on the face of it, damaging to his reputation. The court also said there was enough material to summon Arnab and others for the alleged defamation.

‘A Big Win for Freedom of Press’: Lawyer Aman Avinav

The lawyer who represented Arnab in the court, Aman Avinav of Phoenix Legal, called it a “big, big win for freedom of press across the country”.

Speaking to Republic, Avinav said the Delhi High Court’s order came on a quashing petition filed against the summoning order in a 2016 criminal defamation case. “None of the constituents of defamation were made out. There was no imputation and no intent to defame anyone,” he said, adding that the statements made on air only reflected the truth, which is a complete legal defence.

He further said, “Since a full defence of truth was evident from the very beginning, there was no reason for the Magistrate to issue summons.” Avinav said the verdict reaffirms the constitutional and criminal law principles that protect free speech and the press.

He also highlighted that Justice Neena Bansal Krishna gave a patient and fair hearing, addressing questions on whether isolated words like “goon” could amount to defamation without context, to which the legal team argued that an entire article or debate must be read as a whole. “The courts are clear in identifying politically motivated or vendetta-driven cases and this judgment stands as a strong reminder that the freedom of press is sacrosanct,” Avinav added.