In this article you will learn about the Essentials of Defamation in Tort.
Introduction
Defamation in the law of tort is understood as an oral or a written statement made by words or by expression which tends to harm or damage another person’s reputation. In the Black Law Dictionary the concept of defamation is defined as “the offence of injuring a person character, fame, reputation by false and malicious statement.”
There are two types of defamation :
- Libel : The statement or words which are written or published is known as libel.
- Slander : The false oral statement or words which brings in loss of reputation is known as slander.
Libel is addressed to the eyes whereas slander is addressed to the ears. In libel the statement is made in hard and permanent form such as writing, printin , in the form of pictures. In slander the concept is just the opposite: the words are mostly spoken and in visible or audible form. Libel is an actionable tort and also comes in the preview of the criminal offence. On the other hand, slander is a civil injury and no action can be brought against it . The tort of libel is actionable per se i.e. without proof of actual damage . On the other hand slander is actionable only if there is evidence of real harm/actual damage.
Essentials of Defamation
1. There must be a defamatory statement : The first essential of the offence of defamation is that there must be a defamatory statement and that defamatory statement made must harm or damage a person's reputation. It can be made in spoken (slander) or written (libel).
In the case of Ram Jethmalani v. Subramanian Swamy, the court held Dr. Swamy, in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, to be liable for defaming Mr. Jethmalani by making a statement that he received money from a banned organisation to protect the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
In Ramdhara And Anr. vs Mst. Phulwatibai (1967), the plaintiff was a widow of 45 years of age. She was imputed by the defendant that she is a keep of maternal uncle of plaintiff's daughter-in-law, which is not a mere vulgar abuse but a definite imputation upon her chastity and thus defendant was held liable for defamation.
2. The statement must refer to the plaintiff : Here the plaintiff has to prove that the statement made of which he complained referred to him, it will be immaterial that the defendant did not intend to defame the plaintiff. The defendant shall be held accountable if the individual to whom the comment was published may reasonably conclude that it was directed at him.
In the case of T.V., Ramasubha Iyer v. A.M.A Mohindeen (1971), the court held the defendants liable for publishing a statement without any intention to defame the defendants. The statement mentioned that a particular person carrying the business of Agarbathis to Ceylon has been arrested for the offence of smuggling. The plaintiff was also one of the persons carrying on a similar business, and as a result of this statement his reputation was also severely damaged.
3. The statement must be published : If the publication of a defamatory statement is made to some person other than the person defamed, no action for defamation will lie. However, the defendant is likely to be held liable if any third person wrongfully reads a letter meant for the plaintiff. But if the defamatory letter is sent to the plaintiff but is likely to be read by somebody else, then there will be a valid publication.
In the case of Mahendra Ram v. Harnandan Prasad, the defendant was held liable for sending a defamatory letter to plaintiff written in Urdu despite the fact that the plaintiff did not know Urdu and the letter will very likely be read over by another person.
Defences under Defamation
The following are the defences to an action for defamation :
- Justification of truth
- Fair comment
- Privilege
This article on Essentials of Defamation in Tort is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. Explore more articles and resources on LawStudyPoint.com. Also, check out the Dipshikha Anand YouTube channel for helpful videos and updates.