speech and expression was not exercised.
On the same lines what if there is a news channel A, which aired something about a minister B and he
though it to be defamatory. B filed a case of criminal defamation against the chairman of A and won the
case. Thus, the chairman was sent to jail. Now
other news channel will avoid saying anything
wrong about B because they are afraid of
defamation law, which might lead to their
imprisonment.
In the AIB Roast example Amir Khan just faced
criticism and the other stars started avoiding the
topic. In the news channel example a person would
be imprisoned and imprisonment is not a small
issue. A person when sent to prison has a tag of a
criminal with him and this will hounds him
throughout his life.
When you read it in a hypothetical situation you
might not feel much concerned about it but
imagine it in the macroscopic level where the
opinion expressed concerns the country. Recently when AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa filed five case of
criminal defamation against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, he challenged the legality of Section 499 and
Section 500 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
He argued that
expression of an individual’s opinion for the country or for
social interest should outweigh the right to reputation, a
personal right and that the law of defamation has just become
a tool of harassment. The court while summarising these
contentions opined that"In a democratic body polity, public opinion, public perception
and public criticism, are the three fundamental p