Lawfare – Defamation | Journalists

On August 22, 2014, Bid & Hammer, a traditional brick-and-mortar auction house in India, filed a private complaint against a news house and its editors, including M/s. Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd., Jaideep Bose, Nergish Sunvala, Swati Deshpande, and Neelam Raj, alleging defamation under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Bid & Hammer claimed that certain news articles published in Bangalore Mirror, Mumbai Mirror, The Times of India (Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune editions), and The Economic Times (New Delhi and Mumbai editions) between June 27 and July 20, 2014, contained defamatory content that allegedly cast doubt on the authenticity of paintings that Bid & Hammer planned to auction.

After examining the complaint, the Trial Court took cognizance of the matter and issued summons to all the above-mentioned accused persons, initiating criminal proceedings under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code.