New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by retired IPS officer Param Vir Rathee (1997 batch) challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order quashing the summoning of Indian National Lok Dal chief Abhay Singh Chautala in a 2008 defamation case. A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma declined to interfere with the High Court ruling.
High Court’s Observations Upheld
The High Court, in its December 19, 2023 order, had quashed the summoning, noting that preliminary evidence did not establish that Chautala made the alleged defamatory statements. The Court observed that the complaint failed to demonstrate malice, ill-will, or any intent to defame the officer.
“The complaint does not utter a single word of prior ill-will of the petitioner against the complainant,” the High Court had stated. It concluded that allowing the summons would amount to abuse of the legal process, as the evidence did not show malicious intent in Chautala’s public statements.
Background of the Case
Param Vir Rathee had filed the complaint in August 2008, alleging that statements made by Chautala and published in newspapers caused irreparable harm to his reputation. A Gurugram court initially summoned Chautala in 2010. The summons was challenged before an additional district and sessions court, which upheld it. The matter was subsequently taken to the High Court, which quashed the summoning order.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal reinforces the principle that summons in defamation cases cannot be issued without evidence of malice or intent to defame.
