Determination of Good Faith in Defamation Suits is a Question of Fact triable at Trial

The applicants (RTO officers) sought to quash Criminal Case No. 3788 of 2018 pending before the Metropolitan Magistrate, Ahmedabad

The dispute originated from an FIR (I-CR No. 161/2015) filed by Popular Wheelers (I) Pvt. Ltd. regarding vehicle registration fraud

Subsequently, at the instance of the RTO officers, a counter-FIR (I-CR No. 255/2016) was filed against the company’s director, which was later quashed by the High Court in 2017

Following this, publications appeared in newspaper and electronic media branding the company as a "thief" (chor)

The company filed a private complaint for defamation, and the Magistrate issued process under Section 500 of the IPC

The applicants contended the prosecution was a counter-blast and protected by official duty

1. Whether the summons issued by the learned Magistrate for the offence of defamation under Section 500 of the IPC was erroneous or an abuse of the process of law.

2. Whether the defamatory publications are protected under the exceptions to Section 499 of the IPC at the stage of quashing.

The court applied Section 499 of the IPC, which defines defamation and provides ten exceptions, and Section 500, which prescribes punishment

Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023 (corresponding to Section 482 CrPC) regarding the High Court's inherent power to quash proceedings

M.N. Damani v. S.K. Sinha & Ors. (2001), which establishes that "good faith" and "public good" under the exceptions to Section 499 are questions of fact to be decided at trial, not in quashing proceedings

The Court observed that the essential ingredients of defamation involve making an imputation with the intent to harm reputation

The Magistrate issued summons after considering the complaint and the sworn statement, which disclosed a prima facie case

The Court rejected the applicants' argument that the publications fell under Exceptions 1, 4, or 9 of Section 499 (truth, public report, or good faith), holding that such defenses must be proven during trial

Specifically, branding a company a "thief" in the media following the quashing of an FIR against said company constitutes a defamatory publication that warrants judicial scrutiny

The High Court emphasized it cannot weigh evidence or pre-judge the "good faith" of the accused at this preliminary stage

The application was rejected, and the criminal proceedings were allowed to continue