The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the defamation case filed by BJP President Amit Shah’s son against news portal The Wire to be put on hold till April 12. The news portal had carried a story on the spectacular rise of Jay Amit Shah’s company within a year of BJP assuming power at the Centre in 2014.
While staying the defamation trial pending with a Gujarat court against the journalist who wrote the story and editorial directors of The Wire, the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra sounded critical of the manner in which media reporting these days stooped to the level of saying anything against anyone without basis.
Clarifying that the comment was not in the context of the present case, the bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, framed two issues for determination - whether a publication can attribute innuendos by citing an official document and seek the defence that the information was in public domain. Second, the Court set out to determine whether the defamation case would exclusively hold the author liable or will take within its sweep the Editor and publisher of the publication as well.
Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul who appeared for Shah dismissed the news story as a bunch of lies based on selective picking of material to arrive at a conclusion against his father who heads the Bhartiya Janata Party. He termed the reporting scurrilous and irresponsible as it failed to carry the reaction of his client. It was only after he threatened with criminal defamation and a suit for Rs 100 crore damages, a reference was made to the response sent by Shah.
CJI supported the view that of late media is crossing limits, writing things that sometimes “amounts to sheer contempt of court”. The Gujarat High Court had on January 8 rejected a petition filed by the news portal for quashing of the defamation case following which the journalists appealed to the apex court.