Jayanta Baruah vs The State Of Assam And Anr

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GAHC010243062023

THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : Crl.Pet./1197/2023
JAYANTA BARUAH
S/O LATE DEBANANDA BARUAH
R/O MOTHER TERSA ROAD,
ZOO TINI ALI, P.S. GEETANAGAR
DIST. KAMRUP (M), ASSAM-781024
VERSUS
THE STATE OF ASSAM AND ANR
REP. BY THE PP, ASSAM
2:ANUPAM CHOUDHURY
S/O LATE NAGENDRA PAD CHOUDHURY
R/O NIZPAKUA

P.O. NIZPAKUA

MOUZA- PAKUA
P.S. BELSOR AND DIST. NALBARI
ASSAM
PIN-78135
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR P KATAKI, MRS R BEGUM,MR D CHAKRABORTY
Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, MR. S N KRISHNATRAYA (R-2),MR. J PAYENG (R-
2),MR. G SARMA (R-2)

BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV KUMAR SHARMA
JUDGMENT
Date : 17-09-2026

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Heard Ms. R. Begum, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. S. N.
Krishnatraya for the respondent No. 2. Also heard learned Addl. Public
Prosecutor, Assam appearing for the State respondent.
2. This is an application under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C., 1973 praying for
quashment of the proceeding of C.R. Case No. 154/2019 registered under
Sections 500/34 of the IPC, pending in the Court of the learned Chief Judicial
Magistrate (CJM), Nalbari.
3. In the said proceedings, cognizance of offenses under section 500/ 34
of the IPC has been taken by the learned CJM, Nalbari by its order dated
02.08.2019, passed in C.R. Case No. 154/2019. The learned counsel for the
petitioner submits that the petitioner is the proprietor and owner of Asomiya
Pratidin and Sadhin Printers.
4 . The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that on 24.06.2019 the Complainant
Sri Anupam Choudhury lodged a complaint before the court of Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Nalbari that he is a Government Registered Contractor and also well
known person as well as is actively involved in community service and has a
clean record, never engaging in corruption. However, on 30.05.2019 &
31.05.2019, a news report, published without proper investigation by accused
individuals, falsely implicated him in irregularities related to public construction
projects. This unfounded news severely harmed the complainant's reputation,
affecting his personal and social life.
5. On the basis of the said complaint and upon examination of the
complainant and his witnesses, the learned Magistrate took cognizance of the
offense by the aforesaid order.

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6 . On 19.09.2023, the petitioner filed a petition before the learned Magistrate
being No. 1624/2023 seeking dropping of the criminal proceedings against him.
However, after hearing the arguments from the learned counsels and upon
examining the petition along with the evidence on record, the learned trial court
rejected the said petition. The court held that it lacked the authority to quash
criminal proceedings against the accused. Subsequently, on 15.09.2023, the
matter was fixed for report/appearance of the accused, which led to the filing of
the present application.
7. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that the petitioner is the
proprietor of the newspaper where the alleged defamatory news item was
published and as the owner of the press he is not liable for any criminal action
for defamation in view of the provisions of 7 the Press and Registration of Books
Act, 1867 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).
8. The learned counsel for the complainant/opposite party, on the other
hand, submits that learned Magistrate committed no Illegality in taking
cognizance of the offence under sections 500/34 I. P. C. against the petitioner
as he is liable to be prosecuted in view of the fact that the petitioner No. 1 is
the proprietor of the newspaper, even in absence of any specific allegation
and/or statement with regard to his role in the publication of the defamatory
article.
9. The Act was enacted for regulation of printing-presses and
newspapers, for the preservation the copies of books and newspapers printed in
India and for the registration of such books and newspapers. The term 'editor'
as defined in section 1 of the Act means the person who controls the selection
of the matter that is published in a newspaper.

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10. Section 3 of the Act provides that every book or paper printed within
India shall have printed legibly on it the name of the printer and the place of
printing, and if the book or paper be published, the name of publisher, and the
place of publication.
11. Section 5 provides for rules as to publication of newspapers. It lays
down, amongst others, that no newspaper shall be published in India, except In
conformity with the rules laid down in sub-sections 1 to 8. Section 5 (1)
provides that without prejudice to the provisions of section 3, every copy of
every such newspaper shall contain the names of the owner and editor thereof
printed clearly on such copy and also the date of its publication.
12. Section 5 (2) provides that the printer and the publisher of every such
newspaper shall appear in person or by agent authorized in this behalf in
accordance with rules made under section 20, before a District, Presidency or
Sub-divisional Magistrate within whose local jurisdiction such newspaper shall be
printed or published and shall make and subscribe, in duplicate, a declaration
that he is the printer (or publisher, or printer and publisher) of the newspaper
entitled (name of the newspaper) and to be printed or published or to be
printed and published, as the case may be at (premises where the printing or
publication is conducted). Section 5 (2a) provides that every declaration under
rule (2) shall specify the title of the newspaper, the language in which it is to be
published and the perlodicity of Its publication and shall contain such other
particulars as may be prescribed.
13. Section 5 (2b) lays down that where the printer or publisher of a
newspaper making a declaration under rule (2) is not the owner thereof, the
declaration shall specify the name of the owner and shall also be accompanied

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by an authority in writing from the owner authorizing such person to make and
subscribe such declaration. Section 5 (2c) provides that a declaration in respect
of a newspaper made under rule (2) and authenticated under section 6 shall be
necessary before the newspaper can be published.

14. Section 7 of the Act, which is very relevant, reads as follows:
"7. Office copy of declaration to be prima facie evidence. In any legal proceeding
whatever, as well civil as criminal, the production of a copy of such declaration as is
aforesaid, attested by the seal of some Court empowered by this Act to have the
custody of such declaration, or, in the case of the editor, a copy of the newspapar
containing his name printed on it as that of the editor shall be held (unless the
contrary be proved) to be sufficient evidence, as against the person whose name
shall be subscribed to such declaration, or printed on such newspaper, as the case
may be, that the said person was printer or publisher, or printer and publisher
(according as the words of the said declaration may be) of every portion of every
newspaper whereof the title shall correspond with the title of the newspaper
mentioned in the declaration, or the editor of every portion of that issue of the
newspaper of which a copy is produced."
15. A perusal of Section 7 would go to show that under Section 7 of the Act,
in any legal proceeding, civil as well as criminal, unless the contrary is proved,
production of a declaration or in the case of the editor, a copy of the newspaper
containing the name of the editor, shall be held to be sufficient evidence that
the persons whose name appear in the declaration as the printer or publisher, or
printer and publisher are the printer or publisher, or the printer and publisher
and the name of the editor as printed in the newspaper is the editor of every
portion of that issue of the newspaper. Thus, presumption can be drawn against
the editor, publisher and printer with regard to publication of a news item. In

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view of the aforesald, the persons declared as editor, publisher and printer are
liable for any defamatory imputation in any news item In a newspaper as
presumption as to awareness of contents of news item can be raised against
them.
16. It is submitted that as per the provisions of section 7 thereof, it is only
the publisher or printer or the Editor of the newspaper, who can be proceeded
against in the event of any defamatory material being published in the
concerned newspaper. But the proprietor is immune from such prosecution. It is
submitted that the present petitioner who has been arrayed as accused No. 3 in
the complaint petition has been wrongly described as the publisher of the
newspaper and it is stated in the body of the complaint petition that the
defamatory article has been published by the petitioner.
th
17. The copy of the newspaper dated the 4 of March 2018 is available in
the record and the said publication contains a statement about ownership and
other particulars about newspaper Asomiya Pratidin in form- (iv) under Rule 9 of
the Rules framed under the Act. In the said statement the name of the printer
as well as the publisher is shown as one Sri Jatindro Chowdhury and the name
of the Editor is shown as Nitab Borah. The name of the present petitioner
Jayanta Baruah is shown against the column No. 7 i.e. “The names and
addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders
holding more than one percent of the total capital”.
18. From the above, it is evident that the present petitioner is the owner of
the newspaper and not the publisher or the Editor and therefore, prima facie,
the petitioner cannot be held liable in an action for criminal defamations or
publication of any alleged defamatory material in view of the provisions of the

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Act as discussed here in before.
19. Moreover, as per the provisions of section 7 of the Act, in order to make
the publisher liable, in any legal proceedings, whether civil or criminal, the
production of a copy of the declaration made under section 4 of the Act would
be regarded as sufficient evidence against the persons whose names shall be
subscribed to such declaration.
20. No such declaration has been furnished along with the complaint
petition. However, whether it would be permissible for the complainant to
furnish such declaration during the trial is a question that need not be decided
in the present proceedings. Regardless of that, on the basis of the documents
submitted by the complainant himself before the learned Magistrate, it
transpires that the petitioner is the proprietor of the newspaper and as already
discussed above, such proprietor cannot be made liable in an action of the
present nature.

21. In Pepsi Food Ltd. and Anr. Vs. Special Judicial Magistrate and Ors., reported in
(1998) 5 SCC 749, the Apex Court had observed:
"28. Summoning of an accused in a criminal case is a serious matter. Criminal law
cannot be set into motion as a matter of course. It is not that the complainant has to bring only
two witnesses to support his allegations in the complaint to have the criminal law set into
motion. The order of the Magistrate summoning the accused must reflect that he has applied his
mind to the facts of the case and the law applicable thereto. He has to examine the nature of
allegations made in the complaint and the evidence both oral and documentary in support
thereof and would that be sufficient for the complainant to succeed in bringing charge home to
the accused. It is not that the Magistrate is a silent spectator at the time of recording of
preliminary evidence before summoning of the accused. The Magistrate has to carefully
scrutinize the evidence brought on record and may even himself put questions to the
complainant and his witnesses to elicit answers to find out the truthfulness of the allegations or
otherwise and then examine if any offence is prima facie committed by all or any of the
accused. "

22. In the instant case, the learned Magistrate has clearly erred in not taking
into consideration the document discussed above and therefore, the order of

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cognizance must be held to be illegal, as against the present petitioner.
Consequently, the impugned order dated 02.08.2019 and 19.09.2023, passed by
the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nalbari as against the present petitioner,
as well as the impugned proceedings in so far as the present petitioner is
concerned, stands quashed.
23. The Crl. Petition stands allowed.

JUDGE
Comparing Assistant