Civil and criminal cases go on in Pakistan, America has this provision, know what are the laws of the world on defamation

There is a famous saying that a person spends years in building his respect but a moment is enough to lose it. Respect, honor and prestige are very important for every human being in this world. Under the country’s constitution, every human being has been given some fundamental rights and responsibilities. One of those rights is also to live with honor and dignity. But if a person tries to violate this fundamental right of another or snatch it by any means, then some provisions have also been given in the law under this. Defamation lawsuit is a term often heard on television, newspapers or from big businessmen and celebrities. A Surat court on Thursday sentenced former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison in a defamation case on a complaint by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi over his alleged remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At a rally in Kolar, Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi says: “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi… how come they all have the surname Modi? How Modi is the surname of all the thieves?

what is defamation law

Every citizen of India has got freedom of expression under the constitution, but it does not mean that you have got the right to insult anyone. ‘Defamation’ has been defined in section 499 of the IPC. According to this, if someone imputes the reputation of a person by speaking, writing, reading, gestures or photographs, then it will be considered as defamation. Any time any such statement which is made by any person or organization against whom that statement is made, if it tarnishes its image. So a case is registered under defamation. Making false allegations against someone and hurting his reputation is considered in the category of defamation. The reasoning behind this is that a person’s reputation has been considered a part of wealth and property. Therefore, if a person deprives someone of property, then it is considered in the category of crime. We have told you India’s point about defamation, now let’s know what the laws of the world say about it?

Laws of the world on defamation

In Britain, in the year 2009 itself, such a system was made that no criminal case can be run in cases related to defamation. It was believed then that the rest of the countries were curbing the freedom of speech in Britain by making an excuse for defamation being criminal. Defamation cases are not criminal in Australia and New Zealand. Criminal defamation in newspapers was abolished only in the year 1993. Here the cases related to defamation are settled in the courts only. But the police are not involved in this. Apart from this, there is no jail even if convicted in defamation. The victim has to bear the damages caused by the defamation and the cost of proceedings in the court. In New Zealand, such cases are criminally prosecuted only if someone intentionally causes the release of false information to influence voters.

Civil and criminal cases go on in Pakistan

In the neighboring country of Pakistan, cases related to defamation are both civil and criminal. Only criminal case goes on in Bangladesh. A bill was brought in Pakistan which says that if you make fun of the army or judiciary, then there will be five years in jail. Online defamation in Bangladesh can lead to up to seven years in prison.

What has been said about defamation in America

The Supreme Court of America says that if the complainant is a well-known person, then action under such criminal defamation law should be taken only when the matter of malice is actually proved. Not only this, the Supreme Court has also banned criminal cases for speaking the truth. Experts say that although criminal defamation is part of the criminal code in many states, they are never enforced. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said in 2017 that three quarters of member states have criminal provisions on defamation. In nine countries of Western Europe, there is a provision to impose strict restrictions on defamation of a well-known person.