The Madras High Court has directed Tamil bi-weekly magazine Junior Vikatan to pay ₹25 lakh as compensation to former Union Minister Balu for publishing defamatory statements against him.

The Single Bench of Justice A.A. Nakkiran observed that while the freedom of the press is vital, it must be exercised responsibly and cannot be used to tarnish an individual’s reputation without verifying the accuracy of the news.

"In the event of enjoying the freedom of press, they have all the liberty to publish the news to bring out to the people with the solid proof and they should not tarnish the image and reputation of a person without verifying the veracity of the news and confirming the same. Being the renowned magazine among the people having wide circulation, they should take much more cautious before publishing the news and they cannot take the privilege to tarnish the image and reputation of the Plaintiff amongst the minds of the public while the plaintiff held in various posts. Hence, the plaintiff is entitled to the compensation of Rs.25,00,000/- for causing the damages to the reputation of the plaintiff by the defendants,” the Single Bench said.

The lawsuit was filed by Balu, who sought Rs, 1 crore in damages and a permanent injunction against the magazine from publishing defamatory content about him or his family. The dispute arose from two articles published by Junior Vikatan—one on March 28, 2012, alleging that Balu had unduly benefited from the Sethu Samuthiram project, and another on December 22, 2012, claiming he had referred to Rahul Gandhi as a "small child" at a DMK meeting. Balu contended that these reports were false and had caused significant harm to his reputation.

Court's Observation

The Court upheld the magazine’s argument that the claim concerning the 2012 Sethu Samuthiram article was time-barred by limitation. However, it found the second article to be defamatory, noting that the defendants failed to provide any evidence supporting their claims. The court emphasized that the meeting where Balu allegedly made the remark was closed to the press, and the magazine could not substantiate its report.

Declaring the publication malicious and defamatory, the Court ruled in Balu’s favor, awarding Rs. 25 lakh in damages. However, the court denied his request for a permanent injunction, stating that future publications could not be preemptively restrained.

The Court ordered, "However, the plaintiff cannot seek for permanent injunction for the future publications regarding the subject matter in the present suit. Accordingly, Issue No.5 is answered. The defendants have all the liberty to collect the said compensation amount from M/s.Vasan Publications Private Limited. The defendants shall pay the compensation amount of Rs.25,00,000/- within a period of one month from the date of receipt of the Judgment. Accordingly, Issue No.6 is answered. In fine, this Civil Suit is partly decreed in the aforesaid terms. No costs."

Cause Title: T.R.Balu v. R.Kannan & Ors. [C.S.No.252 of 2014]

Appearance:-

Plaintiff: Senior Advocate P.Wilson

Defendant: Advocate N.Ramesh

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