Defamation: The Unfounded Undermining of a Person\'s Reputation
- Dipali Singh, Fairfield Institute of Management and Technology
- September 24, 2020
Content :
Reputation is “not only salt of life but the purest treasure and the most precious perfume of life” . In simple terms, defamation is the injury to reputation of a person. For instance, abusing, character assassination, publication of calumnious information etc. Defamation is one of the reasonable restrictions imposed to the fundamental right of free speech and expression. Right to reputation is a requisite element of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. A particular statement is defamatory or not, is checked on the basis of how the right-thinking members of society are likely to take it. Defamation occurs only when the statement is referred to the plaintiff and is published to a third person. There has always been a clash of two fundamental rights: the right to freedom of expression and the right to reputation. The guidelines of defamation law are formulated to mediate between these two rights. This paper covers the conceptual definition of defamation, look over the defamation laws and explains it in relation to the fundamental right of speech and expression. It will further critically analyse the law and its application.
