Mukesh P. Shet v. State of Karnataka
In the High Court of Karnataka
Criminal Petition 6048/2011
Before Justice N. Ananda
Decided on January 17, 2012

Relevancy of the case: Defamation through email

Statutes & Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66A)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 499)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioner had sent certain emails to the public defaming the first informant. The petitioner, due to this, was facing a trial under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• The email stated that the second respondent was deported from Australia as he molested a girl. The email also said that the second respondent had gone to Australia for further studies, and since has was deported, he is unmarried and unemployed.

 Opinion of the Bench

• The information which was sent by the petitioner was per se defamatory. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner sent the email in good faith and he did not have bad intentions, it was sent for the interest of the public. The court is of opinion that this offence would attract Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. It does not matter whether it was done in good faith or not or whether he had the intention of protecting the public interest. These matters will be considered during the trial.

Final Decision

• The court held that Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 will be attracted to the present case.
• The court held that the impugned proceedings will not be quashed and the petition is dismissed.

This case summary has been prepared by Afsana Khan, an undergraduate student at Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in June/July 2020.