In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has quashed criminal defamation proceedings against Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L. Murugan. The proceedings were initiated by the Murasoli Trust, which operates a prominent newspaper affiliated with Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK party, over comments made by Murugan during a press conference in December 2020.
The bench, led by Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan, concluded the case after the Trust’s representatives, senior advocates N.R. Elango and Siddharth Luthra, acknowledged Murugan’s assertion that his remarks were not intended to harm the Trust’s reputation. Senior advocate K. Parameshwar, representing Murugan, reinforced that the Minister’s comments were made in his capacity as a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and were not aimed at defamation.
During the proceedings on December 4, 2024, which continued to the next day, Justice Gavai advised the Trust on the resilience required in politics, noting that entering the political arena necessitates readiness to face all kinds of critical remarks. He emphasized the importance of free speech and advised political entities to resolve their disputes publicly, suggesting that politicians need to develop a thick skin to withstand political barbs.
The legal battle began when the Murasoli Trust filed a defamation complaint in a Chennai court, which the Madras High Court refused to quash in September of the previous year, prompting Murugan to appeal to the apex court. The Supreme Court had earlier stayed the defamation proceedings pending before the Special Court in Chennai, leading to this final decision to dismiss the case entirely.
