The manner in which the Jayalalithaa government has filed defamation cases against political opponents and the media and gone about muffling dissent invites the Supreme Court’s criticism.
DESPITE the Supreme Court affirming on May 13 that defaming a person can be a criminal offence, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government in Tamil Nadu has only itself to blame for its embarrassment vis-a-vis defamation cases. In five different occasions in the past one year, the Supreme Court has censured the Jayalalithaa government for its propensity to slap criminal defamation cases at the drop of a hat against political opponents and newspaper editors. The Supreme Court has made it obvious that it views these cases as bare-knuckled attempts to smother criticism of the government’s policies and to quell dissent.
On July 28, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Rohinton F. Nariman observed: “Although we had up held criminal defamation [on May 13], it does not mean we will allow it to be misused as a political counter weapon against criticism.” What provoked the bench’s broadside against the Jayalalithaa government was yet another defamation case filed on its behalf by a public prosecutor against Vijayakanth, the founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK).
“Such criminal prosecution of political rivals has a chilling effect on democracy.... Criticism is a basic right in democracy.... Why has the Tamil Nadu government filed so many criminal defamation cases against political opponents?” the bench asked the State counsel. This was just 13 days after the court sought a personal explanation from the Chief Minister about a spree of criminal defamation cases filed against her political rivals.
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