In a recent development, an appellant has approached the High Court after a case was registered against them under section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act. The case was filed in response to allegations of defamation stemming from a Facebook post.
The defacto complainant, a priest from the Orthodox church, and 35 other priests from the Malankara Orthodox Church went on a hunger strike on August 8, 2017. During the strike, a photograph was taken and later posted on Facebook the appellant. It is alleged that the appellant edited the photograph and changed the wording on the banner, thereby defaming the complainant and the other priests.
Seeking legal recourse, the magistrate allowed the case to be registered, leading the appellant to appeal to the High Court. The appellant believes that the registration of the case under section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act was unjustified and aims to challenge this decision at the higher court.
Defamation refers to the act of damaging someone’s reputation through false spoken or written statements. In this case, the appellant is being accused of defaming the defacto complainant and the other priests through their actions on Facebook.
The High Court will now review the registration of the case and make a judgment based on the evidence presented. It will be interesting to see how the court handles this defamation case and what implications it may have for social media users in the future.
Sources:
– Definition of defamation: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
– Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act: Kerala Police Act, Government of Kerala
