Criminal Law Assignment

Explanation 3- An imputation in the form of an alternative or expressed

ironically, may amount to defamation.
The 3rd explanation deals with the concept of Innuendo. Innuendo is a clever
way to speak negative sentences in a very sarcastic way, which may appear to
be positive at the surface of it.
Illustration:
B asks A, ‘Do you think someone discriminated?’
A in return pointed at C and said, ‘Well you know, who can’.
This is discrimination has it was said in a sarcastic way while pointing at C.

Explanation 4- No imputation is said to harm a person's reputation, unless that

imputation directly or indirectly, in the estimation of others, lowers the moral or
intellectual character of that person, or lowers the character of that person in
respect of his caste or of his calling, or lowers the credit of that person, or
causes it to be believed that the body of that person is in a loathsome state, or in
a state generally considered as disgraceful.

Sixth Exception – Merits of Public performance- It is not defamation to express

in good faith any opinion respecting the merits of any performance which its
author has submitted to the judgement of the public, or respecting the character
of the author so far as his character appears in such performance, and no further.
If any person in good faith expresses his opinion in regards to the performance
or character of the author, which the author has submitted to the judgment of the
public or viewers, then it does not amount to defamation.
To explain this, the author must have by acts or expressly submitted her/his
performance to the judgment of the public. If that is not the case, the act will
amount to defamation.
Illustration
X says ‘Y must be a man with the wrong mindset’. This will fall under the
exception.
But if X says, ‘no wonder his book is indecent, for I know him as a man who is
indecent himself’. This will not fall under this exception and amount to
defamation.

Seventh Exception: Censure passed in good faith by person having lawful

authority over another.
The word censure means a judgment involving condemnation. If any person
passes censure on the conduct of any other person, then it will not amount to
defamation, provided that the person applying censure should have the lawful
authority or any authority arising out of a valid contract, over the person on
whose matters the censure is applied.
Illustration
 Any employee being censored by the employer in good faith.
 In good faith, any teacher censures the conduct of a student in front of
any other student.

Eighth Exception: It is not defamation to prefer in good faith an accusation

against any person to any of those who have lawful authority over that person
with respect to the subject matter of accusation.
Illustration:
A in good faith complains of the conduct of Z, a child, to Z’s father- A is
within exception
Kanwal Lal v. the State of Punjab- In this case, it was noted that the defense to
fall under exception 8, the publication must be made before the authority of law.
The District Panchayat Officer or the Panchayat had no such lawful authority in
regards to the provisions of the Punjab Gram Panchayat Act, 1952, in which the
Panchayats only had the jurisdiction.

Ninth Exception: It is not defamation to make an imputation on the character of

another provided that the imputation be made in good faith for the protection of
the interests of the person making it, or of any other person, or for the public
good.
Illustration:
A, a shopkeeper says to B, who manages his business- “sell nothing to Z unless
he pays you ready, for I have no opinion of his honesty”. A is within this
exception, if he has made this imputation on Z in good faith for the protection of
his own interests.

Tenth Exception: It is not defamation to convey a caution, in good faith, to one

person against another, provided that such caution be intended for the good of
the person to whom it is conveyed, or of some person in whom that person is
interested, or for the public good.