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The Allahabad High Court has quashed a summoning order against Sanjay Gupta, the Editor-In-Chief of daily newspaper Dainik Jagran for publishing an alleged defamatory news item. Court held that in absence of specific allegations, the Editor-in-Chief cannot be held responsible and prosecuted for any news item published in any edition of the newspaper.

The order was passed by the bench of Justice Syed Aftab Husain Rizvi. Holding that the Magistrate had failed to consider the legal aspect of the matter and passed the summoning order against Gupta in violation of legal provisions, Court held that there was no specific allegation against Gupta, therefore, the legal bar will apply against him.

A complaint was filed before the Court of Magistrate, Shahjahanpur alleging that a news item was published in Bareilly edition of Dainik Jagaran, a daily newspaper, placing defamatory and malicious imputation against the complainant with an intention to defame him.

The complainant had alleged that by the said news, Dainik Jagran published a news item that on the order of DIG a case has been registered in which his and his brother’s name was published.

Therefore, the complainant had alleged that by the said news item the Bureau Chief Devendra Deva, Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Gupta, printer and publisher, and General Manager Anugrah Narain Singh had disreputed the complainant against which he sent a notice to them but neither they gave any reply nor published any disapproval.

However, in his plea filed under section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Gupta had contended that the said news item was published on the basis of an FIR wherein the complainant and others were named as accused.

Gupta's counsel had also submitted that Gupta is not responsible for day-to-day reporting in local editions and same is done under the knowledge and supervision of editors and local reporters.

Case Title: Sanjay Gupta v. State of UP and Another