"Time Has Come To Decriminalise Defamation": Supreme Court While Hearing The Wire's Plea Against Ex-JNU Professor's Case

The Supreme Court on Monday (September 22) issued notice on the petitions filed by Foundation for Independent Journalism (the trust which runs the online portal 'The Wire') and its Deputy Editor Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprastha seeking to quash the summons issued to them by a Court in a criminal defamation case filed by ex-JNU professor Amita Singh.The defamation case is filed over an article published by The Wire in 2016 titled “Dossier Call JNU "Den of Organised Sex Racket"; Students, Professors Allege Hate Campaign”.Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the petitioners before a bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma."I think time has come to decriminalise all this," Justice Sundresh orally commented while agreeing to issue notice on the matter.In 2023, the Delhi High Court had quashed the summons issued to the portal and the reporter. However, the Supreme Court reversed the High Court's order in 2024 and remanded the matter to the Magistrate for fresh consideration. The summons issued in the second round is under challenge in the present proceedings. The Delhi High Court, in May 2025, rejected the challenge to the summons. The petitioners raised an argument that as per the BNSS, they were required to be head at the pre-cognizance stage as per Section 223. However, the High Court held that since the complaint was filed in 2016, the BNSS provisions will not apply.The complaint was filed by Singh in 2016 wherein she has referred to an article written by the Wire's Deputy Editor Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprastha in April 2016 titled “Dossier Call JNU "Den of Organised Sex Racket"; Students, Professors Allege Hate Campaign”. Singh had claimed that the publication imputed that she prepared a dossier allegedly depicting JNU as a “Den of Organised Sex Racket”. The complaint alleged that the Editor did not verify the authenticity of the Dossier and used it for monetary benefits of its magazine, defaming Singh's reputation. The summoning order was passed against the Wire's Editor Siddharth Bhatia and Deputy Editor Ajoy Ashirwad by a Delhi metropolitan court in 2017.Case : FOUNDATION FOR INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM v. AMITA SINGH | Diary No. 47139-2025 and AJOY ASHIRWAD MAHAPRASHASTA v. AMITA SINGH Diary No. 47135-2025 Click Here To Read/Download Order

"Time Has Come To Decriminalise Defamation": Supreme Court While Hearing The Wire's Plea Against Ex-JNU Professor's Case

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"I think time has come to decriminalise all this," Justice Sundresh said.

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