‘Responsible for content’: HC refuses to quash defamation case against TOI editorial director

Karnataka High Court quashed the defamation proceedings against the news daily Times of India but refused to nix the case against Bennett Coleman editorial director Jaideep Bose in connection with a report on an artwork auction, Livelaw reported.  

The single-judge bench of Justice NS Sanjay Gowda delivered the order in the 2014 defamation suit filed by Bid And Hammer Auctioneers, saying that Bose “oversaw the contents of the newspapers and was responsible for the content”. He quashed the proceedings against the TOI under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC. 

The TOI and Bose had contended that the article published was the assertion of experts and the newspaper had the “right to report a newsworthy article”. 

However, the court said that “a reading of the first and the second paragraphs in the article, however, gives a distinct impression that a finding has already been recorded by the author of the article that the original paintings were in safe custody, while duplicates or fake paintings were sought to be auctioned”.

The court said that reporting on an expert’s opinion would be different from an article that gives a “categorical finding”. It also rejected Bose’s argument that he was only responsible for policy decisions of the newspaper. However, the court said that there were no assertions regarding the participation of the TOI.

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