Time has come to decriminalise defamation law, says SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said that the time has come to consider doing away with the criminality attached to defamation, signalling a rethink on its 2016 ruling that had upheld the law's constitutional validity.

- PARMOD KUMAR

Justice M.M. Sundresh, heading a bench with Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, made the remark while hearing a plea filed by the news portal The Wire against summons issued by a magistrate on a complaint by Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Amita Singh over a 2016 article published by the news portal.

"I think time has come to decriminalise all this..." Justice Sundresh remarked, with senior advocate Kapil Sibal agreeing to it. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, was appearing in the case representing the Foundation for Independent Journalism that runs The Wire.